Waiting
by Monsterchild
Summary: Logan left seven years ago, leaving Rogue with only a promise that he'd return. But when he comes back, it turns out that maybe a promise just wasn't enough for her. NOT PART OF THE "STAND TOGETHER" SERIES!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

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AN: Okay, so I just want to make sure this is all very clear: **THIS IS NOT AT ALL ATTACHED TO MY SERIES "STAND TOGETHER." **This story is a completely separate entity that I wrote. But I thought that I'd post this in the downtime of the series for those of you that need a little Rogan snack. So check it out and let me know what you think!

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Chapter 1

It was late, and she was mostly asleep, but she knew she heard it. The low rumble of the motorcycle. It was hard _not_ to hear. Her room was right at the front of the building, and she could hear all vehicles coming and going. And this time, she knew it was him.

Rogue didn't check this time though. She laid flat on her back, in her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. For a while after he left, every time she heard the sound of an engine, she would run to her window and look to see if it was him. It never was.

She grew out of that eventually. After a year, she would only check at night. It seemed like a Wolverine thing for him to show up in the middle of the night. After two, she would only check if she was absolutely certain that it was a motorcycle. After three, she stopped checking all together.

Seven years. Wolverine had been gone for seven long years. He'd left shortly after she came back from getting the cure. And even now she remembered the day.

_Rogue had noticed his strange behavior. She had known him long enough to know that he was getting antsy. He wasn't one to stay in one place for too long. Now, he was getting ready to go._

_She staked out the garage, knowing that he would be taking the bike. He showed up around midnight, a knapsack on his back, and she could tell immediately that he was surprised to see her. "Why don't you ever say goodbye?" she asked._

_He sighed. "It's complicated, Kid."_

"_I get it," she said, getting up from where she sat in front of his bike. "You don't ever want to be tied down. You need the change." Her hips swayed as she moved closer to him. "I just want you to say goodbye when you leave."_

_He looked down at her with a smirk. "It's hard to say goodbye to you, Kid."_

_Her spunky demeanor had dwindled at his words. "Then, don't go, Logan," she said quietly. "Please stay…"_

_He tore his gaze from her. "You know I have to go. This just isn't the place for me right now."_

"_You're my only friend here," she replied softly._

_He looked back at her, a question in his eyes. "What about Iceman?"_

_She glanced at her feet, her hair falling into her face. "He and Kitty…" She sighed. "We broke up. He's dating her now."_

"_Rogue," he said. He sounded ready to tell her that he was leaving now and there was no stopping him._

_But she interrupted, "If you leave, what do I have here?"_

_He eyed his bike. She knew that it was calling to him as well as the road. It wasn't her place to stop him, but she wanted to try. "You'll find another friend. And I'll be back."_

_She didn't believe him. "Right."_

"_I don't have anything for you to hold onto as a promise this time, Kid," he said in a strained voice. "There's nothing."_

_Her eyes met his. "This will have to do." She boosted herself to stand on her tiptoes and gently kissed him on the lips._

_He was taken by surprise and the kiss was too short for him to react in any way. "Just promise me you'll come back," she whispered._

_Promises weren't something that Logan did, she knew that. Unless they were to her. "I promise."_

_She gave a small, painful smile and started to walk away. He watched her in silence until she stopped, turned, and said, "Take care of my heart for me, will ya?"_

_But she didn't give him a chance to respond. She just walked out of the garage._

Rogue wondered if he ever thought of that night. Of that one kiss that she gave him. She wondered if he ever realized that by being away for so long he had broken the only thing she'd ever given him.

X X X X X

The dining area was loud with the voices of all the students and other teachers when Rogue came down for breakfast that morning. She was already dressed for the day in a tight, black pencil skirt, a light blue blouse, and a pair of black heels. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, giving her a professional look. She greeted the few students that greeted her as she went towards the kitchen for coffee. Jubilee, her best friend, was there, waiting for her with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Here you go, honey," she said, handing Rogue the coffee.

"Thanks," Rogue replied, taking a sip. Perfect, Jubilee got it perfect every time.

The two girls had met when Rogue had first arrived at the school, but they'd never been real close. However, when Logan had left and Rogue had broken up with Bobby, Jubilee had stepped up to be a friend. Now, you hardly ever saw one without the other.

But today, Rogue's talkative friend was strangely quiet. "What's wrong?" Rogue asked, quirking a skeptical eyebrow.

Jubilee shook her head. "You don't want to know," she said, taking a sip of her own coffee.

Rogue sighed. "I know he's back, Hun. You don't need to hide it from me."

Her friend's body relaxed. "Oh, good. I just… I know…"

"Jubilee," Rogue said, turning to face her friend and placing her coffee cup down, "I'm fine. I heard him come home last night." She rotated her coffee cup mindlessly. "I haven't seen him yet, but I'll be fine. I stopped loving him a long time ago," she insisted, picking up her coffee and taking a drink.

"Then why haven't you dated anyone since you broke up with you-know-who?" her friend pried with a sly smile.

Rogue choked slightly on her coffee and coughed. "Wh- what?"

Jubilee smiled. "Aw, honey, you didn't even realize, did you?"

"I've been on dates," was her defensive reply once her coughing stopped.

"Oh, right," the vibrant mutant said sarcastically. "You've been on dates. But you haven't _dated_, not since… you know. There's a big difference, honey."

Finally, done with this conversation, Rogue picked up her coffee cup and headed toward the door as Jubilee hopped onto the counter. "I just haven't found a guy worthy of my full attention," she called over her shoulder.

But, without looking where she was going, she bumped into another person. "Oh sorry, I-" she started to say. However, at the sight of the mutant she bumped into, she became speechless.

Logan grinned at her. "Nice way to say hello, Kid," he said.

The shock wearing off, Rogue straightened out her clothes and gave a polite nod. "Nice to you see you, Logan. If you'll excuse me, I've got some papers to grade." She swerved around him and went back into the dining hall, her heels clicking against the tile floor.

Logan stared after her then looked to Jubilee. "What's her deal?"

Jubilee shrugged, hopped down from the counter, and said, "No idea," before heading the opposite way.

He chased after Rogue, catching up with her near the staircase. "Whoa, hold up, kid," he said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. She stopped and turned to face him, her mouth a thin line. "You haven't seen me for years and you can't even manage a hello?"

She stepped down a few stairs until she was at eye level with him. "If I wanted to say hello to you, Logan, I would've when you came home last night. Now, pardon me," she said as she turned to go back up the stairs, "as I mentioned before I-"

"You knew I was here?" he asked in disbelief.

She sighed heavily, her hand gripping the rail so tightly her knuckles were turning white, and turned on her heel to face him. "Yes. I heard you arrive last night. I don't sleep well, and I happened to be awake when you came in."

"You could've come to see me," he said, trying to keep a positive attitude. "I was excited to see you."

She sighed again. "Well, I'm sorry that my excitement has worn down after seven years. Now, pardon me, I have things to do." And with a finality, she turned and went up the stairs, leaving Logan standing in the foyer, confused as to what had just happened.

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AN: I hope you all like it! It was just something that I whipped up while I was working on "Going Back Home." I'll post chapter two next Wednesday. So please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

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AN: Thanks to everyone for their interest in this little side project! I got a lot of feedback which I love! So, enjoy this next chapter!

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Chapter 2

Rogue had a right to be mad. Right? Logan had promised her that he would come back, he _promised_, and yeah, he _did_ come back, but it took him seven years. _Seven years_. She had waited seven years for him, with just a promise to tide her over. No phone calls, no letters. Nothing. She had a right to be mad.

At least she felt like she did. Maybe that's why she was like a tornado as she rushed around her office, stacking and un-stacking piles of papers, arranging and rearranging her desk, and trying to keep her hands and mind occupied. She knew that if she had a chance to stop and think, she would dwell on him and what the hell he thought he was doing coming back after all these years.

When there was a light knock on her open office door, she glanced up. Jubilee stood in the frame, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Hey," she said softly.

"Don't 'hey' me, Lee," Rogue responded, focusing her attention back on her busy hands. "We've been best friends for seven years. I know that you know that I'm not okay."

Jubilee came into the room and took a seat in one of the chairs across from Rogue's. "I know. You can see now why I had been worried about telling you, right?"

"Yes, Lee," she growled, slapping a hand down onto her desk, "I know. I know why you were worried, and I know that I said I would be fine, but I'm not. I'm not, and I don't know if I can handle him being here." She sighed and slumped down into her chair, burying her head in her hands. "I just don't know what to do," she breathed. Her eyes moved back up to her friend. "I mean, you remember what I was like after he left, right?"

Jubilee nodded. "Yeah, I remember." Oh boy, did she remember…

_The girl that had the white streak in her hair and used to wear gloves all the time hadn't been to class in days. Jubilee was certain that the boy she'd been dating was now dating Kitty Pryde. And if she was not mistaken, Wolverine had left a few days ago._

_Now, Jubilee wasn't sure, but that had seemed to be the extent of the girl's friends. Was that why she hadn't been around?_

_Finally, curiosity got the best of Jubilee. After class, she went up to Storm, hoping that her teacher could shine some light on the situation. "Hey, Mrs. Monroe?" she asked._

"_Yes, Jubilee, what can I help you with?" the woman replied, giving her student her undivided attention._

"_Um, that girl that has the white streaks and wears gloves all the time…" The teenager wasn't exactly sure how to approach this._

_It turned out that she didn't have to. "Oh, you mean Rogue. Yes, she's been feeling sick these last few days. Actually," Storm went over to her desk and pulled out a folder that had Rogue's name on it, "this is the work that she's missed. Would you mind dropping this off at her room? I haven't had a chance."_

"_Sure," Jubilee said, taking the folder from Storm. "Which one is her room again?"_

_Following Storm's directions, Jubilee wove herself through the dorm hallways and arrived at the one that was supposed to be Rogue's. She knocked and waited, hearing movement on the other side of the door._

_Finally, the door swung open and a disheveled Rogue stood on the other side of it. "Uh, hey," Jubilee said slowly. "Um, I brought by your homework from Storm's class."_

_Rogue gave a forced grateful smile and took the folder. "Thanks, uh…"_

"_Jubilee," she offered, holding out a hand. "I'm Jubilee."_

"_Rogue," the other replied quietly._

"_I know," Jubilee said. "Is it cool if I come in?"_

_She nodded and opened her door wider, allowing the girl entrance. Jubilee stepped inside and took in the sight. The room wasn't a complete mess. There were no clothes strewn about or anything like that. No empty food containers. The only mess was the large pile of used tissues on the floor next to her bed._

"_Sorry about the mess," Rogue said, shutting the door behind her. "I've been sick."_

_Jubilee smiled, sitting down on the bed. "You don't have to lie, I know what's really going on."_

"_You do?" Rogue asked, the words sounding small._

_The vibrant mutant gestured for the other to sit, and she complied. "I know that you were dating Iceman, now he's dating Kitty Pryde," Jubilee explained. "I also know that you were really close to Wolverine, and…"_

"_He left," Rogue interjected quietly, pulling her knees to her chest. "Yeah…"_

"_It doesn't take a genius to realize that this is really about a broken heart," she explained, turning to face the depressed girl._

_That's when it happened. Rogue just broke down and burst into tears. And although, Jubilee didn't really know her, she leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug._

_They had been best friends ever since._

Jubilee had worked too damn hard to get Rogue to where she was today, and there was no way that she was going to let her friend backslide. "You can do this, girl," she insisted. "You can handle this. You were able to get over Bobby when he was right under your nose while he dated, became engaged, and married another woman. You can get over Wolverine."

Rogue shook her head. "I don't know, Lee. He's different."

"Because he never really happened," her friend finished. "I know." She placed her hands on Rogue's slim shoulders. "But I'll help you through this. And hey, we can create a code word or something so that if you need help getting away from him, I can do something. Create a diversion or something, you know?"

Rogue smiled at her friend. "You still want to be a spy, don't you?"

"Absolutely!" she replied with a wide grin. "But helping you get out of an uncomfortable situation is just as good."

Rogue took a deep cleansing breath. "Okay, I can do this." She glanced down at her watch before scooping up a stack of papers. "And now I have a class to go teach. See you at lunch?"

Jubilee nodded. "You know it. Later!" she called as she headed out the door.

Taking one more deep breath, she said to herself, "You can do this. Just breathe. He'll be gone before you know it," and walked out of her office.

X X X X X

Her last class before lunch let out and Rogue was busy tidying up the classroom room when he showed up. "Your students seem to really like you," he said, leaning against the door frame.

Her body stiffened, but she kept picking up. "I make them feel like I'm not just a teacher but a friend. They know that they can talk to me about anything. Problems with friends, school… even heartbreak."

He sighed, knowing that that was a shot at him. "You got any plans for lunch?"

She turned and moved toward the front of the room, never glancing in his direction. "Sorry, got plans with Jubilee."

"Are you gonna do this the entire time I'm here?" he asked with an edge to his voice.

"I'm quite certain that I have no idea what you are talking about," she replied as she stacked papers together and finally turned to face him.

He straightened up. "This… this formality bullshit. It's not like you to act like this."

She walked toward him and glared up at him. "And how would you know what I normally act like?" She kept her glare trained on him as she added, "Pardon me, I have to meet Jubilee for lunch."

As she tried to walk by him, his arm shot out, locking her in. "This isn't right, Rogue. You can't shut me out like this."

"Just like it wasn't right for you to disappear for seven years," she growled. "Excuse me." She ducked under his arm and hurried down the hall. Without even realizing it, she broke into a run, desperate to get away from him. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't be around him. She just couldn't.

Her feet carried her all the way to the kitchen where Jubilee was, her head buried in a book. But she knew who was there. "Hey, Hun, what do you think about…" she trailed off as she looked up at her friend. "Rogue, are you okay?"

She nodded, but her panting told a different story. "I… can't… breathe…" she gasped, before collapsing.

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AN: Alright, next chapter will be up next Wednesday! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

Chapter 3

Logan heard the murmurs as he walked through the dining hall. He knew that they were talking about him and his sudden reappearance, but he didn't care. He needed to talk to Rogue.

He walked into the kitchen, but Rogue wasn't there. Only Iceman. "Hey, Logan!" he said with a wide grin. "When the hell did you get back?"

Oh, Jesus. Logan was not up for this today. "Uh, last night," he grumbled. "Have you seen Rogue?"

Bobby scoffed. "She's in the medic al wing," he explained. "Some sort of attack. She felt like she couldn't breathe and collapsed. Jubilee's with her now."

As much as he wanted to, he knew that going to talk to her in the medical wing wouldn't be the best move. Instead, he walked over to the fridge, hoping for a beer but knowing there wouldn't be one.

"She must be thrilled that you're here," Bobby said with heavy sarcasm.

Logan slammed the fridge shut and turned to face him. "What's that?"

Iceman stepped back. "I'm just saying… I mean, Rogue was really torn up when you left."

The older mutant growled. "You're one to talk, leaving her for another girl."

"What?" There was shock in his voice in a way that couldn't be faked. "Is _that_ what she told you?"

Logan furrowed his brow. "Yeah. Why?"

Bobby sighed. "You might want to sit down for this."

_Rogue sat on the edge of Bobby's bed, hands clamped together nervously. He paced in front of her, trying to process what exactly was happening. "You're breaking up with me?" he asked when he finally stopped pacing._

_She nodded. "I can't believe this is a surprise to you," she mumbled._

"_Of course it's a surprise to me, Rogue!" he barked. "I thought we were doing better since you got the cure!"_

_She stood, coming face to face with him. "Then you're blind," she said quietly but with force behind it. Her gaze dropped again as she maneuvered around him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could walk out the door._

"_I really don't understand this," he said stiffly._

_Yanking her wrist away from him, she snapped, "Because we're both in love with other people, Bobby!"_

_After that statement, he could've been knocked over with a feather. "Wh- what?"_

_She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I know how you feel about Kitty. And I'm not gonna get in the way of that." _

_Once she started toward the door again, he stopped her with, "Wolverine's not gonna stick around." For the first time, she felt tears prick the back of her eyes as she came to a stop. "You know just as well as I do, Rogue," Bobby continued. "He's gonna leave you here all alone. He's not the type to stay in one place. You need to know that."_

_She didn't face him. "I know," she said before finally walking out the door._

_X X X X X_

_Bobby saw her a few days later with a wide smile. "Why are you so happy?" He paused then added, "I know Wolverine left."_

_She shrugged, her smile refusing to quit. "I know. But we kissed. And he promised me that he would be back. So, I know he will be."_

_No matter how much he tried, Bobby couldn't hold back his scoff. "Oh, yeah, right."_

_Annoyance flashed over her face as she narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you know, Bobby? He swore to me that he would be back, and I know that he will be."_

_She tried to walk away from him, a swagger present, but he called, "He's not coming back, Rogue. Open your eyes."_

_There was an audible growl as she whipped around to face him. "What are you playing at? Are you mad at me because I broke up with you? But wait… no, you and Kitty are already dating. So do you just not want me happy or what?"_

"_I'm trying to protect you," he growled. "Trying to protect you from getting hurt. Because no matter what he promised you, no matter what you believe, Wolverine is _not_ coming back! And you just need to face that!"_

_All the anger had disappeared from her face now and it contorted into pain and sadness. "Fuck you, Bobby," she snapped before she ran by him and up the staircase._

"I guess she must've taken what I said to heart," Bobby finished, "because she stayed in her room for days after that."

Two emotions were battling out inside Logan's head, trying to figure out which one to feel first: guilt or anger. Anger won. "You little prick," he growled at the younger man, "you were so certain that I wouldn't come back that you made sure Rogue knew it too?"

"Look," Iceman snapped defensively, "I was right, wasn't I?"

"Hey, I came back." Logan stood and moved toward the fridge again. He just needed to move, otherwise he felt like he would end up decking this kid.

"But after seven years, Logan?" the kid pressed. "I think she was hoping for you to be home a lot sooner than that."

He took a deep breath and turned to face Bobby. "I don't need to explain myself to you, Drake. I don't need to stand here and take this from some kid who couldn't make her happy, who…" His voice faltered as he caught sight of the wedding band on Bobby's ring finger. "Who turned around and got married to someone else…"

Bobby glanced down at his hand. "Oh, yeah. Happened about five years ago."

"Congrats," Logan grumbled, not really meaning it.

"Thanks," he replied, not catching the other's lack of sincerity. "This was around the time that Rogue was still hoping that you were coming back so she actually had no problem with it. In fact, she was one of Kitty's bridesmaids."

"Well, ain't that special?" Logan mumbled. "Look, I'm gonna go see if I can talk to Rogue."

He moved toward the door, but Bobby intervened, blocking his path. "Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" he demanded. Everyone knew that Logan didn't take well to authority or someone denying him something. And considering that he already didn't like Bobby that much, it was rather ballsy on the kid's part to interfere.

"Uh, Wolverine, it's just that…" How could he put this without pissing him off?

"It's just what?" Logan repeated, losing his patience.

That's when it happened. Logan hadn't even thought it was possible. But it did. Bobby yelled at him. "You can't just come waltzing back into her life after all this time and expect everything to be alright! I know that I have no room to talk when it comes to her, but at least I didn't swear to her that I would be back and then disappear for seven years without a word! If you hadn't made her believe that you were coming back, then she would've been able to have a life! Instead, she spent years and years, just waiting!" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You just didn't even realize what you did, did you? How you just kept her hanging on? You had no idea!"

There was no way Logan would ever admit it, but Bobby was right. The thought that Rogue just might move on had never crossed his mind. He never thought that just maybe when he finally did come back that it would be too late.

And now he was glad that it wasn't. Or was it?

"This is none of your business, stay out of it," Logan snapped as he shoved Bobby away from the door and stormed through the dining hall. All eyes moved to him then back down and the murmuring started again. He'd forgotten how it was around this place, and he was starting to remember that he didn't like it.

But Bobby wasn't giving up. He followed Logan through the dining hall, and once they were out of earshot of the students, he barked, "What are you gonna do, Wolverine? You're gonna get her to forgive you and just when she starts being happy, you're gonna leave again!" He scoffed. "God, you never change, do you?" They started ascending the stairs when Bobby brought out the big gun, the last weapon in his arsenal. "Do you have any idea what she gave up for you?"

Those words made Logan stop in his tracks and turn on the younger mutant, livid. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Bobby just shrugged. "I don't know. You figure it out," he said stonily before walking away.

AN: Ah, Bobby's a piece of work, ain't he? Well, I guess someone has to be the rain on the parade. Anyways, I'm glad that you guys are enjoying this. I'm loving your reviews.

And, for those of you keeping track, next week is the return of the Stand Together series! Yay! I know a lot of you are excited for that! So keep an eye out next week for Stand Together: Under Certain Authority!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

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Chapter 4

Rogue laid on the examination table, staring at the ceiling blankly. Beast, Storm, and Jubilee had managed to calm her down after about twenty minutes. They assured her that it had only been a panic attack, and that she would be perfectly fine once she rested. Her classes would be handled by the other teachers.

She stood up from the table. Storm had said that when she felt ready she could get up and move to her room. Slowly, Rogue moved through the halls, praying that she wouldn't run into Logan. She really wasn't up for round three right now.

Safely stowed away in her room, she laid down on her bed and tried to rest. But her mind wouldn't let her. There was too much going on. With Logan showing up again and everything that he brought back with him… it was just too much.

The last seven years hadn't been a fun experience for Rogue. For the first three years, she had pined for Logan, wishing day in and day out that he would come back. All she had then was Jubilee and the faint remnants of a promise. But she couldn't live off of a promise for the rest of her life…

And for the next three years after that… well, things changed.

_Rogue had finally given up. After three years of waiting, Rogue was finally giving up on Logan ever coming back. She was trying to come to terms with it as she walked back from class that day, but she felt shaky all over, like she needed food in her stomach. Which might've been the reason, since she'd skipped lunch that afternoon… and dinner that night._

_It didn't help either that today was Kitty and Bobby's anniversary and Kitty had _begged_ Rogue for help with set up for the romantic dinner that she had planned. And how could Rogue turn down the opportunity to help a friend? Even though it was probably the worst day of her life…_

_Climbing up the stairs, Rogue's books slipped from her arms and went tumbling down the steps. "Oh, shoot," she groaned as she leaned down to pick up the books. Her long brown hair fell into her face, and for some reason, she felt the overwhelming urge to cry. Maybe because the idea of letting go made her feel so alone. Or maybe because she really didn't want to let him go._

"_Need help?" a friendly voice asked._

_She looked up and met the gaze of Colossus. "Oh, hey, Peter," she said, trying to control her voice. It still wavered slightly, just enough for him to notice._

"_Are you okay, Rogue?" His gaze was still on her as he started stacking her books together._

_She started to nod, but her face crumbled, changing the nod to a shake of the head. "I… I'm just a mess today."_

_He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Come on, I think I know something that'll cheer you up," he replied, offering a hand to help her up._

"_I should really go to bed," she said, taking the hand._

"_Bed can wait," he insisted as he picked up her books. "This is more important."_

_He never let go of her hand as he guided her toward the kitchen. Setting her books down on the counter, he then picked her up and sat her down on the counter. She couldn't help but chuckle at it. "Wait right here," he insisted._

_She watched in amusement as he pulled the fridge to the side, revealing a hole in the wall. It wasn't too big, but just big enough to hide something in. "What's back there?" she asked, stretching her neck and trying to see._

"_Close your eyes, tilt your head back," he insisted, holding something behind his back. "And open your mouth."_

_She did what was asked and was rewarded with a small amount of… interesting liquid. There was a warmth as it slid down her throat. "Mm," Rogue groaned as she closed her mouth, opened her eyes, and looked right at Peter. "What was that?" she asked after she swallowed._

"_Russian Vodka," he said, holding out the bottle._

_For the first time that day, Rogue smiled. "What else you got back there?"_

_Taking the majority of Peter's stash of Vodka, beer, and imported Russian candy, they hurried up to Peter's dorm room, making sure the door was locked. They sat on his bed, leaning against the wall, not sure where to go from there._

"_So what's got you so down today?" he asked her as she took a drink of Vodka._

_She chuckled. "I think I'm gonna have to be a lot more drunk before I answer that."_

_Eyeing her with interest, he smiled. "Okay, how about this… I can ask you any question I want. You can either answer or take a drink. If you do answer, I drink. Deal?"_

_Her lips curled into a smirk. "Does it work both ways?"_

_He shrugged. "Sure."_

"_Okay then," she said, taking a drink. "Ask away."_

_Peter turned so his body faced her and crossed his legs. She did the same. "Why did you break up with Bobby?" he asked._

_Lower her gaze, she said, "Because of Kitty… and someone else…"_

_He took a drink. "Who's the someone else?"_

_She raised her gaze and took a long drink from the vodka bottle. "Okay," she said when she swallowed. "My turn. Why haven't you dated anyone here?"_

_He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, there just hasn't been any connection with anyone…"_

"_That's a pansy answer," she replied with a laugh. But she drank anyway._

"_The answers don't have to be interesting," he said, leaning forward. "Just as long as they're true."_

_She leaned forward, leaving only about an inch between their faces. "Is that so? Well… Since I've never seen you with a girl, I might as well ask: are you gay?"_

_He laughed, sitting up straight again. "No," he said, making her drink. "How serious were you and Bobby?"_

_She sighed, sitting straight as well. "What you do you mean?"_

"_Did you two have sex?" he clarified._

"_No," she answered stiffly. "But we talked about it. It just never felt right."_

_Peter took a drink. "Then I guess you never really loved him. If you never felt safe enough with him to have sex, then there was obviously something wrong with that relationship…"_

"_It's my turn, isn't it?" she asked, deflecting his bold statement._

_He nodded, causing her to say, "So I know you're not gay, and you've never dated anyone here at the mansion. But has there ever been anyone here that you had a thing for?"_

"_Yes," he replied._

"_Are you gonna tell me who?" she asked with a small smile._

_With a smile of his own, he took a drink. "Okay, so I'm gonna ask again: why are you so upset today?"_

_She could've just taken the drink and have been done with it. She didn't _have_ to tell him. But she found that she wanted to. She wanted _someone_ besides Jubilee to know and to understand. It was time for her to have another friend by her side._

_Everything came pouring out of her mouth. She spared him no detail. They sat there for what felt like forever as she told him all about her crush on Wolverine that turned into love, the fact that she broke up with Bobby for him, and all about the past three years without him, all the while having tears in her eyes._

"_I'm just so tired of waiting," she whispered, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm so tired. I told myself that today would be the day I let him go. I just can't do it anymore."_

"_Then don't," Peter said with complete seriousness._

_She looked up at him. His face was, again, only an inch from hers. "But how?"_

"_You have to fall in love with someone else," he replied. "That's the only way to fall out of love."_

_She blinked at him. "Who did you have a thing for, Peter? Is that how you let your feelings go?"_

"_You," he said softly. "And I didn't."_

_There seemed to be a telepathic moment between them, and they both leaned in, closing the small gap between them. Their lips met in a forceful kiss that was full of heartbreak and hope._

_It may have been the alcohol in their systems, or it may have been that Rogue was hurting. But that night changed everything._

Deciding that sleep wasn't going to happen, Rogue stood up and walked over to her vanity, taking a seat in front of it. Her reflection stared back at her, looking worn out and tired. There were dark circles under her eyes. She really did need to rest.

But she knew her mind wouldn't rest with how much she had on her mind. She pulled open the top drawer and pulled out the two small boxes there. Setting them down in front of hers, she stared at them. One was labeled "Peter" while the second was labeled "Logan."

Two boxes for the only two men she'd ever loved.

* * *

AN: Well, I really don't know what to say to that.

Anyway, the prologue of Stand Together: Under Certain Authority is now posted as well. So for those of you who are a fan of the series, check it out.

Until next week!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 5

After all her classes were done with, Jubilee found Logan outside, sitting on the bench in front of the three monumental graves. "Hey!" she called to him as she approached.

He glanced up and then focused his gaze back on Jean's grave. After dealing with Bobby earlier, he wasn't up for another person telling him what an ass he was for being gone so long. They didn't know anything.

She came up beside him and sat down, looking at the graves as well. "She's okay, in case you're wondering. It was just a panic attack," she said. "She's in her room now, resting."

Truth was that he _had _been worried. "Good," he replied. "At least it wasn't serious."

Jubilee noticed how his gaze never left Jean's grave. "You really loved her, huh? Jean, I mean."

What was this girl trying to do? "Yeah, I did."

"And it must've really hurt when she died, didn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah, it did," he replied. Finally, he looked at her. "What's your point?"

She shrugged. "I'm just thinking out loud. I mean… Jean died, she had no choice. But you…"

"Oh, I see where this is going," he growled, getting to his feet and starting to walk away.

"…You left Rogue here by herself by choice!" she called after him, causing him to stop. "Her best friend… and the only guy that she had ever loved left her!"

Turning to face his accuser, he shook his head. "Look, I'm not up for some lecture from some chick I don't even know."

She moved closer as she pulled out her wallet. "I'm the one who took your place as best friend," she explained as she pulled a photo from her wallet and offered it to him. "And this is the guy who took your place as… well, the guy she loved."

Logan eyed this girl suspiciously. She looked sincere, like all she was trying to do was make things right. He took the photo from her and examined it. It was a picture of Rogue and Peter together. He had his arms wrapped around her tightly from behind, planting a light kiss on her cheek. She was smiling widely. She looked happy.

"She dated Colossus?" he asked in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"The first three years after you left, she just waited," Jubilee explained. "Look, can we sit down? There's a lot to explain…"

They walked back over to the bench and sat down. "Okay, explain," he said.

She sighed. "Like I said, she waited. Any guy that was interested was turned down because she knew –she was _positive_– that you were coming back soon. She knew that you would be back and then you two could be together. It was kinda painful to watch. Then when she finally decided to give up, Peter, who'd been waiting until she was in a better place, came to the rescue. And he became her world."

"How serious were they?" he asked, still staring at the picture.

"Very serious," she said, her tone becoming stiff.

_It had been one year since that fateful night of Truth or Drink. Exactly one year. They spent the day together: a picnic together on the grounds for lunch and then went off campus for a nice dinner and a movie. And when they got back… Well…_

_It goes without saying that neither one had had sex before that night. But it just felt right to them. There was a glow to both of them the next morning; that was the tell-tale sign to Jubilee. That was the turning point in their relationship. _

_From that day on, Rogue and Peter were hardly ever apart. When they both finished their college courses at Xavier's, they both took positions at the school: Rogue as a teacher while Peter trained kids in the danger room._

_It happened on their second anniversary. Like their first anniversary, they had a picnic on the grounds, by the lake._

"_Are you happy, Rogue?" Peter asked as they started in on their food._

_She looked at him with wide eyes. "Yes, of course, I'm happy. Why?"_

_He shrugged. "I just remember how you were when we first started dating…"_

"_Oh, Peter," she said, "if you're worried about my feelings for Logan... they're gone now. Long gone."_

_He smiled. "I wasn't actually. I just wanted to make sure that you're happy with me."_

"_Of course, I am," she insisted a sweet smile on her face._

"_Well, then…" Peter shifted until he was kneeling on one knee. He pulled a small black velvet box from his pocket and flipped it open. Inside sat a simple diamond ring. "Marie, will you marry me?"_

_Fireworks erupted overhead, making Rogue laugh. Of course Jubilee would be in on this. Once her brain fully processed what had been said, she replied, "Yes, of course I'll marry you!"_

_His smile was wider than ever as he wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips. "I love you, Marie."_

"_I love you, too, Peter," she said with a smile._

_He slid the ring onto her finger and kissed the back of her hand. "I promise you that I'll never leave you."_

_She leaned into him. "I know."_

_X X X X X_

"_Peter!" Rogue called excitedly as she rushed into the danger room the next day. _

_Everyone in the room froze as she ran through a hologram, causing the program to stop, and threw her arms around Peter's neck. He chuckled. "What's up?"_

"_I just found the engraving on the ring," she said with a wide smile on her face. "Do you really mean that?"_

"_Of course I do, baby," he replied, running a hand over her hair. "I love you."_

"_I love you, too," she whispered, her smile still beaming as she stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss him._

"_What's going on, Peter?" someone in the room called when they broke apart._

"_Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys," he said, turning to look at the group he was with. "Rogue and I are getting married!"_

_They were swarmed with congratulations, making her smile even wider._

_Rogue was glowing for days after that. It didn't seem like there was anything in the world that could've brought her down._

_And then… something changed._

"I'm sure you would've gotten an invitation had she known where you were," Jubilee deadpanned.

"There's no ring on her finger," Logan said after a moment of silence.

"No shit," she replied smarmily. "That's because she's not married."

"What happened? Where's Peter?" he asked, looking at Jubilee from the corner of his eye.

"Peter left," she explained. "It was just too tough for him to stick around."

"But what happened?" he repeated.

"Nuh-uh," she replied with a shake of the head. "That's something that you're going to have to talk to Rogue about."

He scoffed. "Yeah, like she's going to talk to me."

"In all fairness, you gave her a panic attack last time you talked to her," she replied. "I know I wouldn't be too thrilled to see you either."

"Right," he grumbled. He glanced at the picture once again then offered it back to Jubilee. "Here, you probably want this back."

She took the photo and tucked it back into her pocket. "Do you even have a photo of Rogue?"

He hesitated, not saying anything.

"You really didn't take one?" she pried. "I mean, you knew you were gonna be gone for a while. Like a year, at least. But you didn't take one. Why not?"

Again, he hesitated. It wasn't really any of her business. Nor had she really let him speak. So, instead of answering her, he started to walk away, but Jubilee stopped him with, "Here, take this. You need a picture of her for when you leave again."

Logan turned back around, ignoring the comment, and saw that she was offering him a photo. He stepped forward and took it. The picture was of Rogue and Jubilee together. It must've been after she started dating Peter because she looked happy. Jubilee was on Rogue's back, waving her arms excitedly, razzle dazzle sparkling from her fingertips. Rogue was smiling and just trying to stay standing.

"Thanks," he said, holding it back out to her. "But I have one of my own."

Once she took it back, he turned and walked away, not seeing the smirk coming across the firecracker's face.

* * *

AN: Ooh, the plot thickens. Anyways, I do realize that I did not mention what the engraving said. I did that on purpose. This whole story has been written and every point has been calculated to perfection. If I leave something out, it will most likely come up in the next chapter or two. Just saying. Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 6

Rogue hadn't moved from her spot at her vanity. The two boxes sat in front of her, untouched. It amazed her that her life could be separated into two categories: Peter or Logan. Because, face it, Bobby wasn't really a chapter. The whole time there had been those hidden feelings for Logan.

Maybe if she laid down again she could rest this time. Maybe her mind would calm down long enough to let her sleep.

Leaving the boxes on the vanity, she moved back to her bed and laid down. She shut her eyes and just emptied her head.

* * *

Logan knocked on her door, but there was no answer. Jubilee had mentioned that she was resting so she could've just been asleep. He tried the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. Stepping inside, he found her asleep, her body curled tightly into a ball, hugging a pillow to her chest. Her hair was falling out of the ponytail it had been in, and while she was still dressed, her heels had been thrown off at the end of the bed.

He shut the door quietly, trying not to wake her. Moving quietly, he went across the room to grab the chair in front of the vanity but something caught his eye. There were two boxes on her vanity: one labeled with Peter's name, the other labeled with his.

Glancing back at her sleeping form, he took a seat in front of the vanity. He knew that she would be pissed if she woke up and saw him digging through her stuff. But he wanted to know what was in his box. Plus, he kind of wanted to know if Peter's box would reveal what had happened between them.

However, he didn't get very far. As soon as he got the lid off of his box, a strangely awake voice snapped, "What do you think you're doing?"

He spun around on the chair to face her. She sat up now, her eyes heavy with sleep, even though she sounded fairly awake. The hair that had fallen from the ponytail was now hanging limply in her face. It was the first time that he'd had a chance to really look at her. She had grown up, a lot. Her curves were fuller, and her face more mature. She wasn't drastically older, but there were laugh lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth, and there seemed to be a more mature air about her.

"Logan," she whined, getting to her feet, "things aren't how they used to be." She went over to the vanity and grabbed the two boxes. "You can't just come barging into my room like you used to. Things have changed."

He stood and watched her as she set the boxes down on the bed and sat down. Her gaze lingered longingly on the boxes for a moment before looking back up at Logan. "You're not a part of my life anymore, Logan," she said softly. "You can't act like nothing has changed."

He stared at her but said nothing. There were so many questions swirling around in his head. But he didn't know where to start.

"Please, Logan," she said, getting up and placing a hand on his arm. "Just go."

"What happened with Peter?" he asked.

She blinked up at him in shock. "Who told you about Peter?"

"Jubilee," he replied, stepping back from her. She was a little too close for comfort.

Rogue sunk back down onto her bed and Logan sat down too, the boxes sitting in between them. "She had no right to tell you all that," she said quietly, pulling the hair tie out of her hair and letting it fall around her face. "Peter is_ my_ business. She didn't-"

"She didn't tell me everything," he interrupted. "She said that you should tell me why you guys broke it off…"

She didn't look at him, but he knew that this must've been painful. Slowly, she picked up the "Peter" box and opened it. "The answer is really simple," she said as she started taking things out of the box and placing them between her and Logan. "This box holds everything from our relationship." She scoffed, placing more on the bed. "Ridiculous, right? A three year relationship and this is all I have to show for it?"

Logan began looking at the stuff she was setting aside. There were a lot of pictures of the two of them together. He had to admit that they looked happy together. Under the pictures sat a lot of hand written notes. Notes from one to the other, expressing how they really felt about each other. Beneath the notes was another picture. This one was of Peter proposing. Along with that came a lot of pages of wedding plans, some in Rogue's handwriting and some in Jubilee's. It was all taken care of apparently. There was also an invitation for the wedding. It was a dark color with gold lettering, announcing that the union between Peter Nicholas and Marie D'Ancanto would take place Saturday, July 15th at the mansion. However, under the invitation, there were all the bills from the wedding, each one marked "CANCELLED" in big, bold letters, followed by letters of condolences from friends.

"I was so close," she said, quietly, picking up the final item in the box. "But I just couldn't go through with it."

She placed the final object between her and Logan. It was the ring. He picked it up and examined it. There was an engraving on the inside of the band that read: "I will always love you."

"I tried to give it back, but he wouldn't take it," she explained. "He said that it would always belong to me."

He set the ring back down as Rogue started putting everything back into the box and set it back down. "What happened with Peter, Marie?" he asked again, more forcefully this time. "What is it that you aren't telling me?"

Her face crumbled, and she buried her head in her hands. A few sobs wracked her body before she looked back up and wiped her eyes. "You really wanna know?" she said with venom in her voice. "Fine."

_The apprehension started about two months before the wedding. It wasn't anything serious, just the usual thoughts that a bride has before getting married. The thoughts that she was never going to be with anyone else ever again scared her. But then that thought turned into something completely different._

_Jubilee noticed. "What's wrong, girl?" she asked as they were putting together possible floral arrangements._

_Rogue shrugged. "I don't know, Lee. I've just been thinking lately…"_

"_Thinking what?" the firecracker questioned, an eyebrow raised._

_Rogue sighed. "Am I doing the right thing?"_

_The maid of honor put down her flowers so fast that she accidentally beheaded a few. "Of course, you are, Sweetie! I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with cold feet with you…"_

_Rogue set her flowers down. "I'm not sure if it's just cold feet, Lee. I've been thinking…"_

"_You wonder if Peter is the man you really wanna spend your life with? Can you really be with one man for the rest of your life?" Jubilee said as if reciting something. "Every bride feels that way. It's perfectly normal."_

"_But, Lee," she protested, sighing. "I've been thinking that… well, this means that I'll never have…"_

"_Oh, Rogue, don't say it," her friend begged._

"… _a chance to be with Logan," Rogue finished._

_Jubilee rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Honey… do you honestly think that Wolverine is ever coming back?"_

"_I don't know," the southerner admitted. "It's possible with him…"_

"_Listen to me," her best friend said, "you are doing the right thing. You and Peter love each other. You should marry him."_

_Rogue nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Lee."_

_But the doubts only got worse from there. Was there… was there even a possible chance that Wolverine would come back and they could be together? She wasn't sure, and she didn't like that feeling._

_Finally, it was the night before the wedding when Rogue made her decision. She and Peter had agreed that they would sleep in separate rooms that night and wouldn't see each other until she was walking down the aisle. So Rogue left Jubilee's room at midnight, after her friend had fallen asleep, and crept down the hall to hers and Peter's room._

_After knocking lightly, Peter answered the door, sleepily. "Hey, Baby, what are you doing here?"_

"_I just wanted to talk to you," Rogue replied. "Can I come in?"_

_He let her in, shutting the door behind her, and they both sat down on the bed. "What's on your mind?"_

_She sighed, staring at the floor. "I'm not sure that I can go through with this," she said softly._

"_What?" he asked in confusion. "Marie, what are you talking about?"_

_Tears were stinging the back of her eyes. She knew this was going to be hard. "I can't marry you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper._

_He took her hand in his. "I'm sure you're just getting cold feet," he assured her. "You'll feel better in the morning."_

_She shook her head, pulling her hand away from him. "It's not cold feet, Peter," she insisted, getting to her feet. "I've had a lot of time to think about this…"_

_Peter stood, placing gentle hands on her upper arms. "Please, Marie_, really_ think about what you're doing."_

"_I have," she said in a strained voice, the tears trickling down her face. "And I can't marry you."_

_It had finally sunk in for him, and he let his hands fall. "I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"  
_

_She smiled sadly. "It's not that. You were wonderful. You _are_ wonderful. It's just…" She sighed, knowing that this part was going to hurt the most. "I have to wait for Logan…"_

_Peter stepped back. "Logan?" he repeated stiffly._

_She nodded in return. _

"_You're breaking up with me because of _Logan_?" he asked, raising his voice in anger._

_Again, she nodded._

_He shook his head, trying to control his anger. "You are breaking up with me the night before our wedding because you are waiting for someone who will probably never come back?"_

_She chewed her bottom lip. "Please, Peter, try to understand…"_

"_Understand?" he yelled. "You're leaving me for another guy, Marie! Not _even_ for another guy! For the _possibility_ of another guy! How am I supposed to understand that?"_

_She covered her mouth with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry. I just thought it was better to stop this before…"_

"_Before what?" he barked. "Before I vowed to spend my life with you?"_

_Rogue let out a strangled sob. "I never meant to hurt you."_

"_Then why are you doing this?" he bellowed. "This is the definition of hurting me!"_

"_I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I'm so very sorry!"_

_He paused for a moment, breathing heavily. "I thought you loved me," he growled._

_Sniffling, she said, "I do. I love you so much. But…" She sighed. "But I love Logan, too."_

_There was a tense silence before he let out a furious growl. He turned quickly and punched the wall, busting through it._

_Rogue yelped and jumped slightly at his sudden violent outburst. "Peter…"_

"_Get out," he growled, pointing to the door. But Rogue didn't move. "GET OUT!" he bellowed._

_Shoving past him, she yanked open the door, pushed her way through the gathering crowd, and ran back to Jubilee's room, where Jubilee didn't ask questions and just comforted her._

_The next morning, Peter had his bags packed, all of his friends around him to say their goodbyes. He was just loading his bags into the car when Rogue showed up, eyes all red and puffy._

"_Hey," she said softly, looking up at him sheepishly._

"_Hey," he replied as he closed the trunk of his car. "Came to say goodbye?"_

_She nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to apologize again…"_

"_Don't," he said forcefully, then sighed. "You did the right thing."_

_Glancing down at her hands, she twisted the engagement ring, pulling it off her finger. "I guess you should take this back…" she breathed, holding it out to him on an open palm._

_His hands enveloped her hand and closed her fingers around the ring. "You keep this…"_

_She blinked up at him with tears in her eyes. "What? No, I couldn't… You might need it for someone else."_

_He shook his head. "No. This is yours. Always will be." He leaned down, kissing her cheek, and whispered in her ear, "Just like my heart."_

_The tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Peter…"_

_He leaned down again and kissed her gently on the lips. "Take care of yourself," he said._

_She smiled sadly. "You, too."_

_Rogue stood there, watching as Peter said goodbye to the rest of his friends. He waved to her one last time, with her returning it feebly, and climbed into car. The world seemed to stand still for Rogue as he drove out of her life._

Logan stared at her, completely stone-faced. "You broke off your engagement with Peter because-"

"Because of _you_, Logan," she growled. There was a tense moment of silence before Rogue swept all contents of the "Peter" box onto the floor, standing up. She whirled around on him, tears in her eyes. "I gave up the only man who _ever_ loved me because of _you_!" She turned away from him again, stepping away.

"Marie," he said, trying to calm her.

"No!" she barked, spinning back around and pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You don't get to say _anything_! I was so in love with you! I gave up a happy life _for you_! And you still didn't come back for a year! And then you just come waltzing in like-"

Logan took a long stride, closing the gap between them, and kissed her forcefully on the lips.

* * *

AN: About time, right? And don't worry, an explanation is coming. Eventually. Anyways, please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 7

Once Rogue started returning the kiss, Logan didn't hesitate to press her up against the wall, hands roaming over her body. Her hands moved into his hair, gripping the locks tightly. She nibbled on his bottom lip, making him groan.

His lips moved from hers, down her jaw and to her neck, nipping at the tender skin. She gasped as one of his hands slipped under her shirt.

That's when Rogue realized what she was doing. This was _Logan_. The man she had been hopelessly in love with for years. The man that left her alone for seven of those years…

With a forceful shove, Logan fell back and landed with a large thud. He looked up at her with a confused expression. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

"I can't do this," she replied hurriedly. She moved around him and rushed out the door, not even bothering to put on shoes.

What the _hell_ just happened? What was Logan thinking? How could he just do _that_ after seven long years of inexplicable absence? She needed to find Jubilee.

Besides teaching a few classes, Jubilee was the one that took care of all the technology around the mansion. It was her job to keep it up to par and make sure that everything was running smoothly. And if it wasn't, it was her job to fix it. It also meant that she could be anywhere in the mansion.

Luckily for Rogue, she happened to be in the nearly deserted library, checking out the main computer system. She was under a desk, messing with some wiring. "Lee," Rogue said breathlessly, sitting down on the ground next to her friend.

"Rogue," Jubilee said warningly, setting everything down and crawling out from under the desk, "you're supposed to be resting."

"I know… I know," Rogue replied, still trying to catch her breath. "But…"

"Girl, calm down, you'll give yourself another panic attack," her friend insisted.

She took a few deep breaths before saying, "You told Logan about Peter."

There was a hesitation before Jubilee nodded. "I did. I just-"

"I'm not mad, Lee," Rogue said. "It's just…" She sighed. "He came up to my room."

"What?" the firecracker asked, stunned.

Rogue nodded. "He came up there, and when I tried to throw him out, he asked me why I broke it off with Peter."

"What did you tell him?"

She could feel the tears at her eyes again but kept it together. "The truth. I showed him the Peter box and told him everything."

"What did he do?" Jubilee asked. It was obvious that she was dying to know, like this was the latest episode of a soap opera.

"He kissed me," Rogue said quietly.

"He _WHAT_?" the vibrant mutant exclaimed.

"Will you shut up?" she hissed at her friend, peering over the edge of the desk. One student had looked up but then returned to his work. Relieved, Rogue looked back at Jubilee. "I'd like if the whole mansion didn't know."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jubilee said, not looking apologetic at all. "But, seriously? He kissed you?"

Biting her lip, Rogue nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah," she admitted, "and well, I sorta kissed him back."

"You _WHAT_?" Jubilee squealed, her wide eyes even wider.

Rogue gave her friend a small smile. "I kissed him back… and then… I don't know…"

"You don't know?" Jubilee repeated with an even but skeptical tone. "What do you mean you don't know?"

The former mutant shrugged. "Uh, well, I was kissing him back, but then… I guess… something snapped. I shoved him off and got outta there."

This time, Jubilee said nothing. She just stared at her friend.

Rogue sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Ugh!" she groaned, looking back up. "I just don't know!"

Still, Jubilee said nothing.

"I mean, he left," Rogue said simply. "He left for seven years without a word."

"I know," Jubilee replied. "He did."

"I'm mad," Rogue admitted, rubbing at her temples. "I _should_ be mad. But… Well…"

"This is Logan," her friend finished for her. "The guy you've waited for."

She nodded. "But he left!"

After waiting long enough, Jubilee finally said what she'd been thinking. "Maybe he has a good reason."

Surprisingly, the thought had never occurred to Rogue. She looked at her friend with a serious expression. "Really?"

Jubilee just shrugged with a shake of her head. "I don't know, I just… When I was talking to him, it sounded like he hadn't intended to be gone so long."

"But he was." And that was the truth of the whole matter. Even if he hadn't meant to be gone so long, he was. "That's all there is to it."

"This is _Logan_, we're talking about," Jubilee felt the need to point out. "This guy would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I mean, think about it."

And she did.

_When she got back from getting the cure, Rogue went to see Bobby right away. He was shocked to see her, but happy. And when she told him that she got the cure –even though he insisted she didn't need to– he kissed her._

_But there was something that didn't feel right to Rogue. There was something about it that… there was something missing. She just didn't know what._

_There was a nagging in the back of her of mind that was telling her to go see Logan. She had been informed of what had happened at Alcatraz. She knew that he must've been hurting and that he probably wanted to be alone. However, she needed to see him._

_There was no response at first when she knocked. Then she knocked again and heard a gruff, "Go away."_

_Rogue took that "go away" actually meant "everyone besides Rogue" because she went in._

_Logan's room was dark, the blinds shutting out the daylight. He was on his bed, staring at the ceiling blankly. She wasn't sure if he even realized that she was there._

_She could fix that. "Logan," she said as she knelt down next to his bed._

"_Go away," he repeated, his gaze never leaving the ceiling._

"_Logan, it's me, Rogue," she replied as she placed a hand on his head._

_Finally, he turned to look at her, recognition coming over his features. "Marie," he said, sitting up. "What… you're back!"_

_She smiled with a nod. "Yeah." She held up her naked hands. "I got cured, see?"_

_Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her hand with his. When he didn't feel the pull of her power, he laced his fingers with her and pulled her up onto the bed with him. He pulled her so she was leaning into him, her back against his chest. They laid there in silence, Logan running his hands along her bare arms. She closed her eyes, just relishing his touch._

_It was a comfortable moment until Rogue remembered why she was here. "I'm sorry about Jean."_

_His hands stopped suddenly, but he stayed quiet._

"_I wish I was there," she said, opening her eyes._

"_Don't," he said._

_She sat up out of his embrace and turned to face him. "I just wish I was there to help you. Maybe if I was there-"_

_His arms wrapped around her suddenly, clutching her to his chest. "Don't say that. There was nothing you could do." She could feel his fingers tangle into her hair. "I was glad you weren't there. I knew you were safe."_

_She wrapped her arms around him, relaxing into his grip. It was comforting to her, even though she knew that he was the one who needed the comfort._

"_Jean wasn't herself," he said slowly and stiffly. "She killed Scott and the professor. If she could've, she would've killed me, too. I don't want to think about if she'd had a chance to get to you."_

_Rogue looked up at him with wide eyes._

"_No one's gonna hurt you on my watch, Kid," he said into her hair. "I promise."_

"HELLO!" Jubilee called, waving a hand in front of her vacant friend's face. "Rogue! Anybody home?"

Rogue looked at her friend blankly. "Huh?"

"Hey! You've come back!" Jubilee said excitedly. "Where did you go just now?"

"Uh, sorry," Rogue said, running a hand through her hair. "Just thinking…"

"Care to share with the class?" her friend asked with a smartass grin.

"Uh," she stumbled, getting to her feet, "I think I should just, uh, go talk to him."

"See if there's a good explanation?" Jubilee pried.

"Something like that," Rogue said with a nod before heading out of the library.

* * *

AN: Haha! There's an explanation! Maybe. You'll just have to find out. See you next week!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. But I do own a couple of characters in this chapter. Just saying.

* * *

Chapter 8

Logan still couldn't figure out what the hell had just happened. He could have sworn that Rogue was getting into the kiss, but then she just left…

He leaned against the wall, head in hands. This wasn't what was supposed to happen when he came back. He was supposed to find Marie and everything was supposed to be okay. They were gonna be together. Oh, god, things had just gotten so messed up…

He didn't know how long he sat there until he realized that the box with his name was still sitting untouched on her bed. Then he realized that the contents of the Peter box were still spread out over the floor. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. Maybe because it was the life that Marie could've had staring up at him.

It was just too much. He gathered all of the photos and papers and stuck them back in the box. But damn it… where did the ring go?

After searching high and low, he found it under her vanity. He picked it up and stared at the engraving again: "I will always love you." And Logan found himself wondering if that was still true.

No. He couldn't think about that. Not after everything that he'd been through. He was here for her now. That was all that mattered.

He dropped the ring into the box and closed it. Pushing that box aside, he picked up his box. Surprisingly to him, it was just as heavy as the other one. How could his box, when they hadn't even had a real relationship, be just as heavy as Peter's?

He didn't get a chance to open it. Just when he was about to, he caught Rogue's scent, coming closer. He set the box back down and sat back against the wall.

Rogue came in, and her gaze fell to him. "Oh, good," she said, closing the door, "you're still here."

He chuckled. "That wasn't what I was expecting to hear from you with the way you ran outta here."

"Well, what would you do, Logan?" she asked, with a serious face but a softer tone.

Getting to his feet, Logan stayed quiet.

"Here I've been, telling myself for years that you won't come back, and that if you do, you would never want me," she continued, her voice creeping closer and closer to pain. "And then you come back here and everything that I've been telling myself… just falls apart."

"Marie," he said, placing a hand on her arm.

"Please, don't touch me, Logan," she insisted, pushing his hand off. "I just… I'm mad, Logan. I have a right to be mad."

He nodded slowly. This wasn't going like he wanted it to.

"You were gone for seven years, with no explanation as to why," she said. "And I wanna know. Before I can even _think_ about forgiving you, I _need_ to know."

Again, he nodded. "Okay. I will."

She sat down on her bed, crossing her legs, and noticed that the "Peter" box had been restored. And the "Logan" box still sat next to it, untouched. "You wanna see the box first, don't you?"

He didn't respond, but she knew the answer.

Sighing, she picked up the box and opened it. Slowly, she started pulling out objects and handing them to him.

The box, he quickly realized, contained mostly pictures. That was all that she really had of him to keep in the box. There were _tons_ of pictures.

And then she handed him a stack of unopened envelopes, all with his name on them.

"What are these?" he asked, flipping through them.

"Letters," she explained. "For the first three years, I wrote you a letter once a week. I had no where to send them so I just held onto them. Then after I started dating Peter, I stopped. There's a wedding invitation in there too." She pointed out the smallest envelope. "And then when I broke up with Peter, I started writing again."

He began ripping into the envelopes and reading bits of each letter. "I miss you, Logan," a lot of them read. "People tell me that you're not coming back, but I don't want to believe them," "I'm getting so lonely, Logan," "I'm giving up on you," and finally, "Goodbye." But then there was, "I broke it off with Peter," and "I'm still in love with you."

Stunned, he set the letters down. "You kept writing…"

She smiled a self-loathing smile. "Yep, it was a release for me. I would write things to you that I didn't tell anyone else. Because while Jubilee made me feel better and she tried so hard… I didn't want her to know that I was still depressed."

"So you told me," he said softly.

She nodded. "Yep, because even then, I could tell you everything. But soon, it wasn't even like I was writing to you. It became a diary of sorts. Like the person I was writing to wasn't even real."

That comment felt like a knife through the heart, but he didn't let it show. "Now it's my turn," he replied, putting everything back into the box.

She turned to him. "Yeah, I guess so."

_It was about ten years before Logan had even met Rogue when he met Linnet. She was beautiful: blonde, busty, blue-eyed. Everything that any guy could have ever wanted. Despite her gorgeous appearance, she was a brilliant woman. And Logan fell for her. Hard._

_They knew each other a week before they impulsively –not to mention stupidly– headed down to Vegas and got married. They settled down in a small cabin in the woods and lived happily for about six months._

_But, as everyone had always reminded Rogue, Logan couldn't stay in one place for too long. So he took off one night in the middle of the night, and drove as far away as he could. He didn't even say goodbye._

_Years passed. Logan went from place to place and woman to woman until he met some teenage girl in a bar. That's when everything changed._

_As time went by, Logan's feelings for Rogue had grown. Yes, he did have feelings for Jean, but he realized that his feelings for Rogue were just a little bit stronger. And after Jean died, he became even closer to the kid. _

_It was then that he realized what he needed to do. He had to find Linnet and get a divorce. His past had to be dealt with before he and Marie could have a future._

_He was only gonna be gone for a few months, at most. Just long enough to get to the cabin, get all the papers signed, and get back home. And then he would have a clean slate for him and Rogue to start a life together._

_Rogue's goodbye to him just secured his decision._

_After weeks of travelling, he finally arrived at the cabin. But even as he pulled up to it, he had a feeling that she wasn't there. The place was completely deserted. Looked like it had been for a very long time. There were cobwebs covering the surface of everything, some animals had taken up residence in closets and cupboards, and termites had eaten away at a good number of the floorboards._

_Logan was stuck. This was the only place he knew to find her. And if he couldn't find her and get this taken care of, then there wouldn't be a chance for him and Rogue._

_As he exited the cabin and moved to his bike, Logan was attacked from behind. At first, the strike to the head only disoriented him, but then when he was hit again and again, he was knocked out cold._

_He woke in a cold, dark room, a lone light bulb being the only source of light. He was chained down to a cold examination table, shirtless and shoeless, water dripping down onto him. He had no idea how long he'd been out or where the hell he was, but he knew that he had to get out._

_As he started to struggle, a cold, crisp voice said from the shadows, "Even with strength like yours, I don't think you can break through those."_

_He watched as a tall, skinny… kid emerged from the darkness. This kid could only be about twenty, maybe twenty-one. He had dirty blonde hair and the same blue eyes that Linnet had. "I've been waiting to meet you, Logan," the kid said coldly._

"_Who are you?" Logan spit out, not even remotely intimidated._

_The kid laughed a chilling laugh. "Oh, like you care. You don't care about anyone but yourself."_

_Logan wanted to wipe this kid's smirk right off his face._

"_But if you must know," he continued, "I'm Linnet's brother."_

_Feeling his blood run cold, Logan knew that this wasn't going to be good._

"_You remember Linnet, right?" the kid snarled. "I mean, you must. Why else would you be here?"_

"_Look, Kid," Logan growled. "Just let me talk to your sister."_

_The kid laughed. It sounded cruel and cold. "Oh, now that would be a trick..."_

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Logan growled, struggling against the chains._

"_Linnet's _dead_, asshole," the boy hissed. "A little less than ten years ago, giving birth to a son."_

"_What?" Logan asked, trying to wrap his head around it. "Linnet had a son?"_

"_You," the boy barked, slapping his hands down on the table on either side of Logan's head, "_have _a son. A son that was then placed in foster care because there was no one of age to take care of him!" There was a bright flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder that accompanied the boy's anger as he threw up his arms. "_You_ killed your wife and abandoned your son!"_

"_Listen, Kid-"_

"_I AM NOT A KID!" he bellowed, another boom of thunder filling the small room._

_Once the sound died, the kid crouched low next to the table so his head was right next to Logan's. "I was only twelve years old when my parents died," he said in a low harsh voice. "And just months later, the sister who had taken me in, even though she'd been abandoned by her husband, _died_, giving birth to a child that she would never know. I haven't been a _kid_ since that day."_

_He stood and paced away from the table, just to turn right back around. "And that was the day," he announced to the mostly empty room, "that I dedicated _my_ life to finding the smug, stupid bastard that killed my sister. And I _swore_ that I would get my revenge!"_

"_What do you plan to do, huh?" Logan growled. "Kill me?"_

"_No," the kid said, shaking his head. "No. You see, that would be too easy." He chuckled maliciously. "I want you to suffer!" He punctuated the last word by slamming his hands on the metal examination table and sending a bolt of lightning through it._

_Logan convulsed and screamed as the electricity surged through his body. He could feel the metal in his body heating, and he could smell as his body burned from the inside. Once the kid let go of the table, Logan collapsed back onto it and passed out._

_There was an annoying clicking noise the next time he woke up, like the opening and closing of a lighter. He groaned at the sound. "What the hell is that noise?"_

"_Oh, goody, you're awake," the kid said as the clicking noise stopped. "I found something interesting in your wallet."_

_Logan had been thinking about the little bit of money he had and the credit cards…_

"_Who's this?" the kid asked, holding a picture in front of his face._

_The picture was of Rogue. It was after she had gotten the cure so she was wearing a red sleeveless dress that twirled out around her as she spun. Which was what she had been doing right before the picture was taken. She saw him with the camera and stopped, laughing. With her standing in the tall grass and the sun setting behind her and the wind blowing her hair into her face, she looked absolutely beautiful._

"_That's nobody," Logan grumbled, looking away from the picture._

"_LOOK AT HER!" the kid demanded before sending a small jolt into the table. Not enough to make Logan pass out like last time but enough for it to make him yell out in pain._

_Dizzily, he fixed his gaze back on the picture._

"_Now tell me: who is she?" the kid said with a sly grin._

"_Marie," Logan rasped. "That's Marie."_

"_Marie," the boy repeated as he pulled the photo away and stared down at it. His expression changed to one of a coyote who had just spotted his next meal. "Sweet, innocent little Marie. She's got to be about my age… eighteen, nineteen?" He smiled at Logan. "She's cute."_

"_I swear to _god_," Logan growled, straining against the chains, "you lay a finger on her, I will rip you apart, limb from limb."_

"_Whoa, whoa!" the boy said, holding up his hands defensively. "Calm down, Logan! There's no need to overreact. I just want to learn more about your… daughter?"_

_Logan said nothing._

"_No…" the kid decided. "No, she wasn't around when you were with Linnet. So this would make her… your girlfriend?"_

_Still, Logan was silent._

_But the boy's grin grew. "Yes, that's it. You love her. And I bet she's waiting for you right now, isn't she? She's waiting for you to come back to her, isn't she?"_

"_What do you want from me?" Logan asked._

"_I told you, Logan," he replied in an eerily calm voice as he laid a lazy hand against the table. "I want revenge." And again, a bolt of lightning was sent through the table, eliciting a scream from Logan as his body convulsed and he was knocked unconscious._

_The last few years were just a blur for Logan. It was brief moments of consciousness accompanied by electric pain, a few meager meals, and more pain. _

_Then, one day when he woke up, the examination table was gone. Instead, he was chained to the wall. He was given enough leash, he realized, to cut himself free. Apparently, the kid didn't know about his claws._

_Before he could do anything with this new development, the kid came in. Well, technically, he wasn't really a kid anymore. After what Logan could assume was nearly a decade of captivity, the kid had grown up._

_But that didn't mean that he was gonna let Logan go._

"_Good morning, Logan," he said cheerfully. "Like your new arrangement?_

_He scoffed. "I guess it's better than the table…"_

_The boy smiled. "Well, I just feel like I've had my fun. It's time for you to suffer."_

"_I _have_ been suffering," Logan growled. "What more do you want?"_

_The boy didn't respond right away. Instead, he pulled a long hunting knife out from behind his back. Logan didn't even want to know where he'd been keeping that. "I want you to stop and think, Logan. Think about your life. Because these are the last few moments of it."_

_Of course, the first thing that came into his head was Marie. She was waiting for him. He was going back to her no matter what._

_Calmly, the kid stepped forward, looking Logan directly in the eye. "Oh, by the way," he said, "your son's name is Daken. Just thought you might like to know before you die." With a strange satisfied look, the kid dug the knife into Logan's gut._

_That was all Logan needed. Swiftly, he extended his claws, cut his chains, and Logan's claws sank into the boy's stomach._

_He gasped as blood started trickling out of the corner of his mouth. "I'm coming, Linnet," he gasped._

_Logan withdrew his claws, letting the lifeless form fall to the floor. He stopped, staring down at the boy's body. He didn't need to die… But there had been no choice._

_Finally, he was done with this place. He was heading straight for the door when he remembered the picture. There was no way that he was leaving it behind._

_He found it in the kid's front pocket. He tried really hard not to think about what the kid might've been doing with it. Grabbing all the cash he could find, he got the hell out of there._

_The bright sunlight burned his eyes. How long had it been since he'd last seen daylight? He'd lost count of the days. He winced against the light, waiting until his eyes readjusted. It turned out that he'd been underneath the old cabin the whole time. _

_His bike was where it had been left all those many years ago. It was covered in dirt and leaves and all other matters of nature, but it still worked._

_He rode to the nearest town to get cleaned up and get some food. And that was when he figured it out. Seven years. He'd been trapped for seven years._

_And he couldn't go home quite yet, he decided. He looked sick. Rogue couldn't know what he'd gone through. He could only go back to her once he was healthy. And that's what he did._

Rogue stared down at her hands, trying to process everything that he said.

"You were the only thing that kept me going," he said softly. "The only thing that made me sure that I was gonna be back here…"

"Just…" she replied with a sigh. "Just stop talking…"

He nodded. "Okay…"

"…And kiss me," she demanded, looking up at him.

He felt the need to oblige.

* * *

AN: Yeah, I just did that. Anyways, I really like how Linnet's brother came out. Evil is usually not my thing but I thought he came across perfectly. But that's just my opinion. Please, as always, review!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

AN: Enjoy the smut.

* * *

Chapter 9

This was not what Logan had been expecting when he told Rogue the story of the past seven years. He thought maybe she would tell him that she could forgive him eventually or that she'd become worried about him. But he never imagined that she'd be straddling his lap, kissing him like he'd always wanted her to.

And it's not like Rogue expected this to happen either. When she sat down to hear the story, she was certain that there was nothing that he could say that would make this right. But… he left to go take care of his past… for her. He survived seven years of torture, for her. He had been focused on her all that time…

How could she _not_ want to kiss him?

Her skirt was riding up her legs as she straddled his lap. Her hands holding onto his neck as she kissed him. Her hips ground down onto his, making him groan into her mouth.

His hands slid under the edge of her shirt, just running along her silky skin. His hips rocked up as hers rocked down.

Her hands got busy unbuttoning his plaid shirt and slid it down his shoulders before yanking his wife beater over his head, only breaking apart for the moment. She began kissing down his jaw, nipping slightly, going down his neck, and to his collarbone.

His hands kept running over her soft skin, and he could feel as she moved into his touch. His hands found the front of her blouse, and instead of working all the buttons, he ripped it open, sending all the buttons flying. He flipped her over, taking control, and began sucking on her neck as a hand ran up her leg.

She moaned at the sucking and biting, arching her body up into his. His lips moved down her shoulder, sliding her bra strap down. She was writhing under his touch, her hands running all over his exposed upper body.

His lips trailed down her sternum. Too impatient to mess with the clasp of her bra, he extended a claw with a _snikt, _and sliced the bra down the middle. She rose up just enough to slide it down her arms and as she did, he leaned down, taking one of her nipples in his mouth.

She gasped at the sudden sensation and moaned. Logan's tongue flicked the nipple as one of his hands tweaked and played with the other.

"Mmm, Logan," she moaned, her head tipped backward. The sound of his name on her lips in such pleasure made him harder.

Her hands ran over his muscles, feeling every ripple. She could feel them twitch under her touch, just as hers did under his. As her hands finally reached the waistband of his jeans, she undid the button and zipper before sliding her hand into his jeans, gripping his firm member. He groaned against her skin.

His hands found the zipper on the side of her skirt, unzipped it, and slid the skirt down off her body. He pulled back for a moment to admire her body. Her soft pale skin stood out drastically from her black panties and her dark hair, bright red spots littering her neck and shoulders from his biting and sucking. She bit her lip nervously as his eyes raked over her body. "What?" she asked.

"You're beautiful," he said softly, lowering his lips to hers gently.

She kissed him back as her hands pushed his jeans down while he kicked off his shoes. His jeans were deposited on the floor with the rest of their discarded clothing.

He pulled her body up into his with one arm as the other hand moved to in between her legs. She was already wet, soaking through her underwear. She moaned at the slightest touch, and he grinned.

His fingers rubbed her clit through the fabric, and she wriggled under his touch. "Oh, god, Logan," she moaned.

His lips attacked hers with a new vigor. He wanted her. He wanted her _now_.

Apparently, she had the same need because she was pulling down his boxers. Those were discarded along with her underwear before they moved back together. His fingers plunged inside her, making her cry out in ecstasy. She was ready.

He lined up his leaking cock with her opening before pushing in slowly. They both moaned as they're bodies acclimated to each other. Once he was in all the way, he pulled out before pushing back in. Their pace picked up as they found their rhythm. He thrust into her as she bucked her hips up against his.

Their bodies melded together in perfect harmony. The sweat ran down her back as she clawed at his shoulders, riding him for all he was worth. Their bodies moved together, faster and faster, until she cried, "Logan!" as she climaxed. Her muscles tightened around his cock, sending a jolt of pleasure through his body.

"Marie," he moaned as he came and spilled into her.

Their bodies collapsed, panting with him still inside of her. They laid there together until he rolled off of her. She pulled the blankets up around them and rested her head against his chest. "That was just like I imagined it," she breathed.

He kissed her sweaty forehead with a chuckle. "Yeah? You've imagined it?"

She looked up at him. "You haven't?"

He smiled. "Of course I have."

Rogue chuckled. "I hoped so."

Logan ran a hand through her hair. "I remember the last time we were this close."

"So do I," she whispered.

_It was the day the picture was taken. Logan had taken Rogue for a drive out away from the mansion. She said that he needed to get away from the mansion. She said that he needed to get away from the place where he'd fallen in love with Jean. After driving for an hour, they decided to stop somewhere and get out to stretch their legs. She ran ahead, spinning around in the tall grass._

_Logan got the picture of her spinning with the camera she'd made him bring along. She giggled at the goofy grin on his face. "Come on, old man!" she called tauntingly at him._

"_Hey, I'm not that old!" he yelled back at her before muttering, "I think."_

"_Then, come on, Grandpa!" she shouted with a laugh in her voice._

"_You better watch it, Kid," he called to her. "Or I'll make you pay!"_

"_If you can even catch me!" she teased, sticking her tongue out at him._

"_That's it!" he growled, playfully. "You're gonna get it!"_

_She screamed and started sprinting away as Logan started after her. They ran through the grass, laughing the whole way until Logan finally caught up with her. He caught her around the waist and tackled her to the ground, twisting so that he hit the ground and she landed on top of him._

_Rogue smiled down at him. "Wow, not bad for an old man," she said with a quirk of her eyebrow._

_He rolled his eyes. "I'm not that old, Kid."_

"_And I'm not that young," she replied._

_There was a tense silence as they stared at one another. His gaze lingered to her soft lips, but he didn't move. He knew a stupid move and that would definitely be one._

_Logan rolled to his side, laying her down in the grass. He settled onto his back, staring up at the clouds._

"_That one looks like a mushroom," she said, pointing up at a misshapen cloud._

_He scoffed. "That one," he replied, pointing to a different one, "looks like a cloud."_

_She laughed at him and turned on her side to face him, propping her head up with her hand. "Oh, come on," she said. "It's a game. You just have to try to see something. Every cloud looks like something."_

"_Yeah, clouds," he replied in a "duh" tone._

"_Come on, give it a try," she demanded, rolling onto her back again. She pointed to another one. "What about that one?"_

_He focused on it and tried to see something. And he did. "You," he said softly. "I see you."_

"_Nuh-uh," she replied, not believing him. "Where do you see me?"_

_He pointed to each spot as he described it. "See, there's your chin, and there's your nose. That's your mouth, right there is your eyes. And there's your hair. See?"_

_Rogue smiled looking at him. "I see it."_

_He gazed at her softly. "Are you happy now, Marie?"_

_She turned to face him, resting her head on her arms. "Of course. I'm always happy when I'm with you."_

"_Good, I like when you're happy," he said, smiling._

_Her expression was soft as she replied, "I don't think I've ever been happier than I am at this moment."_

_There was another tense moment as he tried not to think about kissing her. "It's getting dark," he said after a minute. "We should start heading back."_

"_Right," she replied._

_He got to his feet and pulled her up before he placed a hand around her waist and leading her toward the motorcycle._

_That was the day that he realized that he was in love with her. And that was the day that he realized that he had to go fix things._

"I'm so happy, Logan," she said softly.

"Good," he replied, kissing her forehead again. "I'm happy, too."

* * *

AN: Hope you enjoyed the smut. More to come next week. Another chapter, I mean. Not smut. No more smut.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 10

It goes without saying that everything was different from that point on. While Logan had never been very into the idea of being a couple, with anyone, he was trying for Rogue's sake. He would show up after every one of her classes and in between his danger room sessions with the juniors. They spent lunch together, Jubilee joining every so often. And they had sex. A lot.

Everyone had been able to tell the difference in Rogue's demeanor. She was a little looser, a lot happier, and there was an air about her that screamed, "I'm in love!" Jubilee had noticed the day after that first night together when he told her his story. But Rogue had been very tight-lipped.

The firecracker knew she had to fix that.

_She waited until Rogue left her classroom for lunch. Once Rogue stepped into the foyer, Jubilee jumped her from behind. "I'm kidnapping you," she whispered conspiratorially as she dragged her friend outside._

"_Jubilee!" Rogue said in annoyance once they were outside. "What was that for?"_

"_What's with you, girl?" her friend replied._

"_What?" she snapped, even though there was a wide smile on her face. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Helloooo!" Jubilee called playfully. "Are you serious? You are a total space case today! What happened with Logan?"_

"_Nothing," Rogue said too quickly as a blush rose to her cheeks._

_But the colorful mutant was not fooled. She pointed an accusatory finger at her best friend. "Something _did_ happen! Oh, come on! Tell me, Rogue!" When her friend didn't answer, she continued, "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!"_

"_Oh, my lord, will shut up?" Rogue growled. Her friend finally silent, she admitted, "Logan and I… made up last night."_

_Jubilee chuckled. "That's a nice way of saying that you fucked like bunnies."_

"_Jubilee!" she scolded, looking around them to make sure that no one had heard that. "Will you please be quiet?"_

_But Jubilee just kept laughing. "You guys fucked!"_

_Fed up, Rogue clapped a hand over her crude friend's mouth, only muffling her laughter. "Now…" the southerner said slowly. "I will let go of you if you promise to keep it down. Okay?"_

_Jubilee nodded, and Rogue let her go. "Must've been one hell of an apology if he got you to not just forgive him but fuck him as well."_

_Rogue narrowed her eyes. "It…" But then she broke into a smile. "Hell, I can't even stay mad at you. I'm too damn happy."_

"_So, what was his reasoning for being gone? What could he have _possibly_ said that got you to jump into bed with him?" her best friend wanted to know._

_She smiled a knowing smile. "Sorry, Lee, but that's something that's gonna stay between me and Logan."_

"_What?" Jubilee whined. "What did he say that you can't even tell your best friend?"_

_Rogue's smile couldn't quit. "I'm sorry, honey, but this is just one thing that I can't tell you."_

_The firecracker examined her friend with a critical gaze. "You're really happy, aren't you?"_

"_I am," Rogue replied._

_Jubilee gave her a hug then said, "Go get your lunch. You're too happy, it's making me sick."_

"_Hey," a gruff voice said from the doorway. "I was wondering where you disappeared to."_

_The two women looked up at Logan. "Sorry," Rogue said, "Jubilee kidnapped me."_

_The offender shrugged. "Not my fault that you monopolized my best friend's time last night." She approached him and said quietly, "You hurt her again and I'll cut your balls off."_

"_Noted," he said with a grin. "And I won't."_

_She gave him an approving nod before disappearing through the doorway back into the mansion._

_Rogue smiled at Logan. "Whatever she threatened to do to you if you hurt me again, she'll do it."_

_He chuckled. "I don't doubt that."_

"_So… lunch?" she asked._

"_Sure thing," he replied._

However, Jubilee wasn't the only one to notice. Bobby saw the change in her, not to mention the fact that Logan had been hanging around her more often, and thought that he needed to say something to stop her from getting hurt.

_It was about a week after the thing between Rogue and Logan started. She ran down to the kitchen for a midnight snack for her and Logan, but Bobby was there._

"_Oh, Bobby," she said, startled. "I didn't think anyone would be down here."_

_He made no attempt of easing into it. "What the hell are you doing, Rogue?"_

_She stared back at him in confusion. "What?"_

"_What the hell are you doing with Logan?" he clarified._

_She sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "That's none of your business."_

_Bobby stood and moved toward her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "He's gonna hurt you again. I don't think I can just stand by and watch you go through that again."_

_She scoffed, shoving his hands from her shoulders. "You didn't watch it happen the first time," she snapped. "You were too busy with Kitty to notice how much pain I was in."_

"_Oh, I noticed," he said defensively. "You just had too much pride to come to me for comfort because I had been right."_

_Her jaw dropped. "_What_? Too much pride? Are you mental? I was _mad_ at you, Bobby! I had been happy until you tried to hurt me! So don't go turning this around on me like it's _my_ fault that we haven't talked much."_

"_All I'm saying," he continued, ignoring her comments, "is that this guy is just gonna get your hopes up before turning right back around and breaking your heart again."_

_With narrowed eyes, she took a deep breath, stepping forward and pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You don't know what happened over these past seven years, Bobby. Don't pretend like you do. And because of that, you'll never understand. Logan will never hurt me again. Have no doubt about that."_

_As she started walking away, he said, "You may have forgiven him, Rogue, but I haven't."_

_She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Good. Cause I didn't ask you to."_

_Of course when Rogue had made it back up to the room with no snack in hand, she had to explain to Logan what had happened. He wanted to go down there and punch the ice cube's face in, but she assured him that she was fine. She knew that he wasn't going anywhere this time._

Other things were happening around the mansion as well. Jubilee had become overwhelmed with all the tech work that needed to be done.

"_This whole place is a disaster," Jubilee had announced as she sat down with Logan and Rogue at lunch one day._

_It was a nice sunny day so they'd decided to have lunch outside that day. "What?" Rogue asked, squinting against the sun to look up at her friend._

_Jubilee sat down in the grass next to Rogue. "This whole place is a technological disaster," she repeated. "I can't handle all of this!"_

_Rogue sighed. "This place is falling apart…"_

"_Literally," Jubilee added. She saw the confusion on Logan's face and explained, "Things have been rough since Storm took over. Our admittance rates are low and the students we do have barely attend class."_

"_Storm's doing her best," Rogue said, "but this place is just… not the same."_

"_But back to what I was saying," Jubilee intervened before Logan could say anything, "technologically speaking, this place is a disaster."_

"_What do you mean?" Logan asked, finally getting a word in edgewise._

"_With all the computer system failures and the malfunctioning equipment," she explained, "I can't handle everything." She leaned over, picked up Rogue's sandwich, and took a bite before setting it back down. "Oh, by the way, Logan, I'd watch yourself when in the danger room."_

"_You're starting to scare me now, Lee," Rogue said._

"_I'm just saying that there are several malfunctioning projectors and processors," the techie went on to explain. "And when they malfunction, it can either short out and nothing bad will happen, or it could just explode and set off the rest, killing you in a fiery hell storm." She shrugged. "I'm just saying."_

_Logan chuckled. "Thanks for the warning, Jubilee, but I think I'll be okay."_

_Rogue wasn't so certain, but she didn't voice it. "Just talk to Storm, Lee. I'm sure she'll figure something out._

The something turned out to be an assistant. A human boy by the name of Webber Torque, AKA Arcade, who happened to be a technological genius, or so it they'd been told. He was nerdy looking, with short curly red hair and glasses. Webber had been assigned to danger room duty since he'd been so fascinated with the concept. Between the two of them, they were getting things back up to par.

Over the next month, Logan and Rogue went out on more motorcycle rides together. They liked having the time alone together away from the mansion, more often than not stopping at the field where they'd spent that fateful day together.

And one day, when they came back, there was a truck in the garage that hadn't been there before. "Who's truck is that?" Logan asked, as Rogue dismounted.

She took off her helmet and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Um… not sure." She handed her helmet to him. "I'll be right back," she said, rushing into the mansion.

She raced through the mansion, skidding into the foyer when she saw him. He smiled. "Hey, Marie."

Her heart was beating hard in her chest. A smile came over her face as she said, "Hi, Peter."

* * *

AN: You didn't think that I'd actually leave them alone without throwing some sort of obstacle at them, did you? Well, sucky for them but excellent drama. Review.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 11

They stood in the foyer staring at each other. Rogue didn't know how to react. She had missed Peter… a lot. But the way things ended…

"Well," Peter said, "can I give you a hug or what?"

She nodded, shaking herself from her stupor. "Oh, yeah," she replied, holding out open arms.

Peter awkwardly stepped forward and leaned down, wrapping his arms around her. And once she was in his arms, the awkwardness disappeared. He lifted her clear off the ground and spun her around, just enjoying the feeling of her in his arms again.

He finally set her down after a long moment, and she staggered backwards. "Um, well," she started to stammer.

"Rogue," the gruff voice of Logan said from behind her, making her look over her shoulder.

"Logan," Peter said evenly, though his face was covered in surprise. "I didn't know you were back."

Logan examined Rogue carefully. She wasn't looking at either one of them. Her gaze was focused on her shoes, a long strand of her white hair hanging in her face. Her face was unreadable. She was… nervous? No… surprised? Confused? He couldn't tell.

"Yeah," he replied. "Got back about a month ago."

Peter nodded. "Well, good." His gaze locked onto Rogue. "I know you were missed around here." He didn't sound angry, just… well, like he cared about her.

"What are you doing back here?" Rogue spoke for the first time since Logan showed up, the question directed at Peter.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I kinda missed this place. Thought I'd come back for a while."

Logan could sense the tension crackling in the room. "Rogue, are we still going to the danger room for a training session?"

She looked back at Logan. "Uh, yeah." She turned to look at Peter. "Good to see you again, Peter."

"You too," Peter replied with a smile.

She turned around and headed toward the danger room, Logan trailing after her. He had moved to place an arm around her waist but didn't. Rogue didn't look happy, and he wasn't about to make it worse.

Rogue seemed distracted for the rest of the day. They had decided to skip the danger room session, she had said that she just wanted to be alone.

She laid in her room, covers pulled up around her, facing the wall. Why did Peter have to come back now? She was happy with Logan!

But then… why did seeing Peter make her wonder if she was with the right guy?

It was too confusing to her. She had given up Peter for Logan. She knew that. There was no denying it. But there were those feelings for Peter still there. It wasn't that she didn't love him when she left him. She was crazy in love with him. There was just the one thing that she had to know before she committed herself to him. She had to know what life with Logan would be like.

And now that she had that… Well, she didn't want to let it go. She loved Logan and it wasn't fair to him. After all that he'd been through, there was no way that she could let him go. Not that she wanted to.

But did she want to give up Peter? Ugh! When had life gotten so complicated?

Rogue rolled over, laying on her stomach and buried her face into her pillow. She just wanted life to be simple. She wished things could be normal again.

But which was normal?

_Seven and half years ago…_

"_Come on, Kid!" Logan pressed as she swung a weak kick in his direction, which he blocked easily. "You can do better than that!"_

"_I'm trying, Logan!" she barked in frustration, her attacks ceasing. "God…" she said, breathlessly, leaning against the wall and sinking to the floor. "Give me a break, will ya?"_

_He sat down next to her, handing her a water bottle. "No, I will not give you a break. Because I know that you can do better than that."_

_Angrily, she snatched the water bottle from him and took a drink, downing half the bottle. "No, I _can't_ do better than that. I'm giving you the best I got."_

_He shook his head. "Naw, I don't think you are. What's wrong with you? Having problems with Bobby?"_

"_What do you want from me, Logan?" she snapped._

"_I want you to get off your ass and try again," he demanded._

_Rogue tossed the water bottle to the side. "Fine," she growled, getting to her feet. "Let's go."_

_Logan smiled. He loved that he could get her so riled up so easily. "Okay, Kid, show me what you got."_

_Her first few moves were blocked by an unimpressed Logan who just droned, "Is that the best you can do?" Finally, she managed to swing a kick up and connected with his jaw. There was an awkward cracking noise, and he stumbled backward._

"_Okay, okay," he said, getting her to back down. "I think you fractured my jaw…"_

_She shrugged. "Not like it really matters."_

_He smiled, rubbing along his jaw. "See I told you that you could do better."_

_After finding her water bottle, she took a swig. "Yeah, whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes._

_

* * *

_

_Three years ago…_

"_Whoa, Rogue, stop!" Peter said as his girlfriend threw several punches. Sparing with her was always interesting…_

_But Rogue was in her own little world. She hadn't even heard him. Continuing, she swung her leg up, attempting the same kick that had nearly broken Logan's jaw._

_Knowing that she hadn't heard him, Peter's mutation kicked in, casing his body in metal. Rogue's kick connected with his jaw, but when it did, it sent a dull pain shooting up her leg. "Ow, fuck!" she growled before stumbling back and falling to the mats. She rubbed her throbbing foot and glared up at Peter. "What was that for?"_

_He chuckled, kneeling down in front of her. "Sorry, but you weren't stopping."_

_She looked up at him confused. "You called it?"_

_He nodded. "Yeah, I did. But once you get into that zone, there's no stopping you. Why's that?"_

_Rogue slipped off her shoe with a shrug and examined her quickly bruising foot. "I don't know. That's how Logan trained me."_

"_Yeah," he replied with a smirk. "That sounds like Logan."_

_She glanced up at him, confused at his comment. "Do you… do you still worry about Logan?"_

_Peter shifted into a sitting position and took Rogue's foot from her, examining it. "A little. I know how you felt about him. It's not easy to let something like that go."_

_Her gaze fell back to her foot. "I know. But you don't have to worry about him."_

_He smiled up at her. "I know. Neither do you."_

_She looked back up at him with a smile. "Yeah, I know."_

"_Come on," he said, getting up before helping her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist to help support her and keep the weight off her foot. "Let's get some ice on that foot."_

"_Good idea."_

They were both her norm, she decided. Neither one seemed like a better fit than the other. And that didn't make this any easier for her.

There was a timid knock on her door that made her look up. Jubilee poked her head in with a sympathetic smile. "Can I come in?"

Rogue nodded as she sat up. "Yeah, Sugar, come on in."

Jubilee came in all the way and shut the door behind her before moving across the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know that Peter's back."

"Of course you know," Rogue said loathingly. "You always know when some big bomb comes back to drop onto my perfectly happy existence."

Jubilee sighed. "Oh, honey… I k now this must be tough."

"But it shouldn't be!" the southerner groaned in frustration. "I'm with Logan, the guy that I've been wanting for years! And I'm happy!"

"But Peter made you happy, too, and you still have feelings for him," Jubilee finished for her friend. "I know…"

"I mean," Rogue tried to rationalize, "I still had really intense feelings for Logan after I started dating Peter. Those didn't get any weaker until like six months into our relationship…" She scrubbed a hand over her face. "Ugh! This shouldn't be this hard!"

Jubilee ran a hand over her friend's hair. "But it's not supposed to be easy either, Sweetie."

She dropped her head into her hands. "I love Logan…" Frustrated, she pulled on her hair. "God, I love him… But… I love Peter, too."

"You're going in circles…"

"I know!" She was on the verge of tears now. "What am I gonna do, Lee?" she barely whispered. "I don't know what to do…"

Jubilee didn't get the chance to reply. There was another knock on the door and Logan stepped inside this time. "Marie, can we talk in private?"

"Sure," she replied, rubbing at her eyes.

There was a silent moment between her and Jubilee that made the firecracker nod and get up. She sidled past Logan, shutting the door behind her.

"So what's up?" Rogue asked, trying to keep her voice even.

Logan sighed as he sat down next to her. "I know that Peter being back here must be hard…"

"Oh, Logan, it's not-" she started to protest.

"All I want is you happy, Kid," he interrupted. Then he added in an uncharacteristically soft voice, "I want you to go back to Peter."

* * *

AN: Yeah, I know, I'm evil. Please review.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 12

"What?" Rogue gasped, her eyes still stinging with tears. "Logan, I-"

Logan sighed, picking up her hand and holding it tightly. "Marie… You have waited a long time for me to be around. And while you were waiting, you're life still went on. You fell in love and had a guy who fell in love with you."

"But I love you, too," she said, her voice heavy with tears as they started to fall.

His other hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears. "I know. I love you, Marie. And I want you to be happy. Peter loves you still. Just go back to him."

She looked up at him with watery brown eyes. "I don't understand, Logan." She chewed her bottom lip. "I thought you wanted to be with me… I thought you cared about me…"

"I do, Darlin'," he said, trying to hide the pain reflected in his voice. "And that's why I gotta let you go."

"But, Logan-" she started to protest.

He cut her off with his lips against hers, and she knew what this kiss meant. This was goodbye. Again.

But it was different this time. He wasn't going anywhere, and this time she wasn't left to wonder about his feelings toward her. She knew, he knew. It just wasn't their time. Maybe it was never going to be.

They broke apart, and she looked at him breathlessly, lips swollen and eyes red. "Are you sure about this?"

They were still close enough for their noses to touch. "I have to be," he said softly. "And I am." He leaned in again, this time their lips barely touching. Once he pulled away, he scooted away from her. "Go. You should go talk to Peter."

She nodded and stood, moving slowly toward the door. Her hand rested on the knob, and Logan could see her hesitate. She had to be with Peter. She _had _to be. It was what Logan wanted. "Go," he insisted.

Rogue wanted to cry. She knew that he wasn't telling her to go because he didn't want her. She knew that this wasn't about them. He was telling her to go because he wanted to bow out gracefully and make her decision easier. But it still hurt.

She took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked out. Logan waited about thirty seconds before following.

He stayed a good distance behind her, just enough to keep her in sight. He wanted to make sure that she would really go talk to Peter. There was no way that Logan was letting her go for nothing.

But when he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped. Rogue had reached the bottom and stopped, finally finding Peter. He watched in silence as she talked to Colossus, her face soft but serious at the same time.

Logan could've listened, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to hear how happy she was when Peter took her back.

And luckily, he didn't have to because two things happened at the same: Peter led Rogue out of the foyer, and Jubilee came up behind Logan and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to look at the annoyed firecracker. "Do you remember what I said I would do if you hurt her?" she snapped.

With a sigh, he turned back around, only to find Rogue and Peter gone. He leaned against the railing and said, "I didn't hurt her."

"Then why is she down there somewhere with Peter?" she demanded, standing at his side with her hands on her hips. "If you didn't hurt her, then why isn't she with you?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Because I told her to go back to Peter."

"What?" Jubilee snapped. "Why? _Why_ would you do that?"

Logan looked up at her with seriousness. "Because I had to."

"Ugh!" she growled. "Will you stop being so tight lipped? You had to have a reason for letting her go!"

He shrugged. "I did. But it was a completely selfish reason."

_During one of the few conscious moments he had over the time of his capture, the kid asked him an interesting question. "It's been four years, Logan," he said evenly. "Now, I've aged. I look older than I did when you first arrived, don't I?"_

_Logan said nothing. He'd learned quickly that the kid didn't want a response. This was his only human contact so he just liked to talk._

"_But you…" He chuckled. "Well, you look exactly the same, don't you?"_

_Again, Logan said nothing, but he could feel his muscles clench. There was no way the kid could've figured it out._

"_All the electricity I've been pumping through your system would kill a normal man," the boy went on. "You will never age, will you? You're gonna live for eternity exactly as you are, aren't you?"_

"_Not exactly," Logan muttered._

_The boy smiled evilly and pulled the picture out of his jeans pocket. "And what of your little Marie?" he asked, holding the picture out so Logan could see. The kid had been doing this. He constantly taunted Logan with Marie, just showing him the picture as a form of torture. He made sure that Logan knew that he would never see her again… "How do you think she looks now? I bet she's grown up a lot. I bet you that she's gorgeous."_

_Logan took deep breaths, trying to keep calm._

"_Do you think she's forgotten about you, Logan?" the boy continued, pulling the picture away. "Four years is a long time to wait for someone. Do you really think she'd wait? I mean, you could have run off with someone, or maybe, if it's even possible, she thinks you're dead. Maybe she is with someone right now, someone who's making her feel like you never could."_

_Logan's body ached to strike out at this punk. He talked about Marie like he knew her, but he didn't know anything about her. He didn't know anything._

"_Do you wonder if she's fucking someone else right… this… minute?" the kid hissed._

_Finally, Logan lashed out with a roar, his body straining against the chains as the boy laughed. "My, my, Logan. It surely does not take much to get a rise outta you. And guess what?"_

_Logan stayed quiet, silently fuming._

"_I'm just getting started," he whispered maniacally. "Now… if you _do_ happen to make it out of here alive, which, let's face it, is a very slim chance, and your little Marie just _happens_ to be free, which, again, is very slim, what will happen?" He laughed. "Well, I'm not making much sense now, am I? Let me rephrase. You will never die. But what about her? In about sixty years, maybe sooner, maybe later, your Marie will die. Even if you get out of here, eventually, she will be taken away. And you'll be left all alone. Again." The boy shrugged with a grin, placing a hand on the table. "I don't know. Just some food for thought while you sleep. Sweet dreams." He sent a jolt through the table, making Logan's body convulse and collapse._

"HELLO!" Jubilee snapped at him, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"What?" he growled at her.

"I asked you what the hell you meant by that," she explained, her hands still on her hips.

"Meant by what?" he asked, staring down at the foyer below. Just thinking about the conversation with that demon made him want a drink.

"You're doing this for a selfish reason?" she repeated with attitude heavy in her voice. "I swear if you did this just so you can take off again, I'll-"

"Chill out, Firecracker," he replied. "It's not like that."

"Then tell me what it's like, Logan," she insisted. "I'm trying to understand, but I just don't get it."

He sighed. "There was a night not long ago where Rogue asked me something that got me thinking."

"Well… what was it?"

_They were curled up together in Rogue's bed, her resting her head on his chest. "Logan?" she asked._

"_Yeah?" he replied, trying to stay awake._

"_Are you afraid of anything?" she asked, running a hand up and down his chest._

_He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "Everyone's afraid of something."_

"_I know," she replied. "But are _you_ afraid of anything?"_

_He chuckled. "Yeah. I'm afraid of something."_

_She craned her neck backward to look at him. "Well, what is it?"_

_Logan ran a hand over her hair. "I'm…"_

"_You can tell me, Logan," she said when he couldn't finish his sentence. "I won't judge you."_

_He hugged her closer to his body. "I'm afraid to live forever all alone."_

_She looked up at him with concern. "That's what you're afraid of?"_

_He nodded. "Yeah. And I know that it's not something anyone can change."_

"Wait," Jubilee said, trying to wrap her head around it. "Are you saying that you let Rogue go after Peter because he can _die_?"

He chuckled. "I guess if you wanna put it that way."

"Then explain it to me," she insisted. "Because I don't get it."

"I'm saving myself from being happy with Rogue," he explained. "Because if I'm happy with her now then in however many years when she dies, it will hurt. But if I let her go now, let her be with someone who will die around the same time she does, then I don't get hurt as bad. And Rogue doesn't worry."

"But, Logan-"

"Jubilee," he said stiffly, straightening up. "I appreciate the concern but just drop it. Rogue will be happy with Peter. That's all that matters."

He turned to walk away but stopped when she asked, "You're not leaving yet, are you?"

Logan paused for a moment. Could he really stand back and watch her with Peter? Wouldn't it just be easier to walk away? He looked over his shoulder at her. "Not yet. Not until they get married. But after that, I'm gone."

Jubilee nodded, understanding him completely. "Good."

He gave her a single nod before walking away.

* * *

AN: I still love how evil the brother came out. Like, I'm very proud of the character. I don't get to write evil often so it's great that I _can _write it if need be. You know? So yeah, hope you like the chapter. Can't wait to hear from you!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. Just the plot.

* * *

Chapter 13

Rogue sighed and pulled open the pantry door. "Logan… Get out of the pantry."

Logan sat against the wall inside and looked up at her. His legs were pulled up against his chest, elbows on knees, and his head against his forearms. "How'd you find me?"

She shrugged. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I know you've been avoiding me."

"No, I haven't," he insisted. "I've just been busy."

With a sad smile, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She sat down across from him, cross-legged. "I know that's not true. You've been diving into closets for the past three weeks. How do you explain that?"

_Truth was Logan had been avoiding her for the past three weeks. But not just her. Her and Peter to be exact. Yes, he had been the one to give her up, but that didn't mean that he had to force awkward conversation with them in the hallway._

_The first time had been just days after he'd handed her over. He could smell her coming. Seeing her alone didn't bug him so he hadn't moved. But then he caught onto Peter's scent as well and… well, he panicked._

_That was unusual for him. He usually kept cool in awkward situations and faced them head on. But this whole thing wasn't a usual case. So he dove into the nearest broom closet until they passed by._

_The next time it happened, he'd been in the danger room. He'd been working out his frustration by running one of the simulations when he heard her laugh. Of course, that meant that she wasn't alone, and there was no way that he was gonna face both of them together._

_He stopped the simulation and slipped into the nearest door. That door happened to lead into the control room for the danger room. The room was small with several small screens on one wall, surrounded by a million colorful buttons and levers._

_And Logan was not alone._

_Webber, Jubilee's tech assistant, was in the cramped control room, fussing with the equipment. "Oh, hey, you're Logan, right?" the young man asked as he adjusted levers._

_The kid was in his mid-twenties with curly red hair that fell into his face as he examined the equipment, and he kept pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as they slid down._

"_Uh, yeah," Logan said, looking around the room. "That's me."_

_Webber leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I figured. Jubilee's told me about you. Rogue's mentioned you, too."_

_Logan bristled at the mention of her. "Great, just what I need."_

_The kid shrugged. "Look, it's not like Jubilee tells everyone. She just started ranting one day and I was there to listen." He leaned forward and pressed several buttons. "Personally, I think it's commendable."_

_Logan looked at him. "What are you talking about?"_

"_You giving up Rogue," he replied with an insistent tone._

_The older mutant sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Well-"_

"_But I can see why you did it," Webber interrupted, watching the screens intently._

_Logan eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"_

_The techie gestured to the screen. "Come look."_

_Logan moved to stand behind him and looked at the screen he was gesturing to. It was a live feed of the danger room, where Peter and Rogue were. Peter stood close to Rogue, talking to her. He brushed a strand away from her face, and she smiled up at him. She leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Peter's lips. The joy was obvious on her face, and Logan knew what the kid was getting at._

"_You couldn't keep her from that, could you?" Webber asked, looking up at him._

_Logan sighed. "Look, kid, I ducked into this room for a reason, so I can't exactly leave, but I'm gonna stand over in that corner and pretend that you're not here, okay?"_

_The tech nodded. "Right. I gotcha."_

That was how it had been for the past few weeks. It was Logan, jumping into empty classrooms or broom closets. And now, hiding in the pantry, it had been a similar situation. He smelled Rogue and Peter coming and had dove into the pantry. Except this time, after he heard Peter leave, Rogue busted him.

"Look, Marie," he said, "it's not-"

"You told me to go, Logan," she interrupted in a serious tone. "It's not like I just left you."

"I know, kid," he replied.

"I don't think you do," she said stiffly before softening. "Logan, I'm with Peter, but that doesn't mean that I want you out of my life. That's the last thing I want. So will you stop hiding?"

He nodded. "Sure. Anything for you, kid."

She gave a sympathetic smile before she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later, Logan. Right?"

"Yeah, kid, later," he replied.

She stood and left, leaving Logan alone. After a few minutes, he got to his feet and left the pantry as well.

The kitchen wasn't empty, however. Bobby was there. "Hey, Logan," he said pointedly. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Logan replied, moving toward the door.

"What were you doing with Rogue?" Bobby asked.

"Nothing," Logan repeated as he hovered in the doorway.

"You should leave her alone," the younger one insisted.

Logan scoffed, glancing over his shoulder. "You don't know shit."

"Just watch it," Bobby warned.

"Since when have you grown a pair?" Logan asked sarcastically before walking away.

* * *

Peter found Rogue outside, sitting in front of the graves and staring at each one blankly. "Tell me there's nothing going on with Logan," he said bluntly.

She didn't turn to face him. With a sigh, she replied, "You know there's nothing going on."

He walked around the bench and sat down next to her. "Then what's with Bobby telling me that he saw you and Logan leaving the kitchen pantry?"

She turned her head to look at him. "Peter…"

"Look, Marie," he said in a serious tone. "If you want to be with Logan, be with him. Just don't string me along."

"That wasn't what happened," she insisted with a stern voice. "Haven't you noticed Logan disappearing into closets and classrooms to avoid us?"

Peter paused. Of course he had. It was really hard to miss. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Just because I'm not dating him doesn't mean I don't want him in my life," she explained. "That's all that it was about. I swear."

"That was all?" he reiterated.

She nodded firmly. "That was it."

"Okay," he replied, squeezing her hand in his and kissing her cheek. "I gotta go do something, but I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him as he stood.

* * *

Peter stepped into Rogue's room. He'd seen the boxes sitting on her dresser, but she hadn't shown him what was inside. He had a fairly good idea of what was in Logan's. It had been his idea to keep everything together in a box in the first place.

But he wasn't sure exactly what was in his box. And he hoped that there was one specific thing in there.

He lifted the lid to the box and saw it sitting there right on top. Her engagement ring. The one he gave her over a year ago.

He picked it up and pocketed it before putting the lid back on the box. However, as he moved back toward the door, there was a knock. He froze.

The knock sounded again. "Hey, Rogue, you in there?" a familiar voice called.

Peter relaxed. Good, it was only Iceman. He opened the door to his surprised friend. "Peter, hey," he said. "What are you doing here?"

The larger mutant gestured Bobby inside and shut the door behind him. "I came to get this," he said, showing Bobby the ring.

"The engagement ring you gave her?" Bobby asked in confusion. "What are you doing with that?"

A smiled stretched across Peter's face. "What do you think?"

Bobby's eyes widened. "Are you seriously gonna ask her to marry you again?"

"Yeah, why not?" Peter asked, his grin still plastered on his face.

"Isn't it a little too soon?" Iceman replied with a serious tone. "I mean, you just got back, you know?"

Peter shook his head. "No, I'm ready for this. I think she is, too."

"Is this because of Logan?" For once, Bobby had a point.

Again, Colossus shook his head. "No. This is because I love her."

Bobby nodded, but he wasn't sure that he really believed him.

* * *

AN: Yep, Peter's spooked. And who can really blame him? Please review and keep on reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

AN: I'm telling you all now that I wrote this chapter a long, long, long time ago. This entire fanfiction was written long before I even started posting it. Or got any of your reviews. You'll understand this warning by the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 14

"You are lying," Kitty said to her husband as she walked out of their bathroom, dressed for the day. She taught advanced Calculus at the school. "There is _no way_ that Peter's gonna propose."

Bobby had managed to keep Peter's secret for about a month, but finally something slipped out. "I'm telling you, Kitty, I caught him in Rogue's room, taking the ring."

"Maybe… he felt like he should have it," she suggested, picking up a stack of graded papers. "Technically, an engagement ring is a contract and in the event of a break up, the ring is supposed to be returned to the giver."

"He told me he was gonna propose, Kitty!" Bobby insisted. "He said that he was ready for this and she was ready for it, too."

She tucked her papers into a folder and looked at her spouse. "You know that he's just doing this because of Logan."

"I know," he replied. "I said that. He insisted that it wasn't because of that."

"Oh, please," she snapped in disbelief. "He sees Logan as an opponent. It's just one giant pissing contest."

"Yeah, well," Bobby said. "That's guys for you."

She smiled up at him. "At least you can admit it." With a glance down at her watch, she added, "I gotta go. I promise you, your secret is safe with me." She kissed her husband quickly before rushing out the door.

* * *

"Jubilee, wait up!" Kitty called. When lunch rolled around, she took off immediately to find the firecracker. Finally, she found her heading toward the danger room.

Jubilee slowed and turned, watching as Kitty ran toward her. "Hey, Kitty, what's up?"

"You'll never believe what Bobby told me," she said breathlessly.

* * *

No way. Kitty was right: she didn't believe it. Jubilee was astonished. Peter was gonna propose? _Again_? No way. No freaking way. They'd only been back together for less than two months. That was way too soon.

Apparently, Peter didn't think so.

Jubilee continued on her way into the danger room and went straight into the control room. She had taken to checking on Webber, even though he insisted that he had a handle on everything.

"Hey, Sparky," he greeted her with a grin. "What's shaking?"

She sighed and looked at him. "It's… well, none of your business…"

He chuckled. "Since when has that stopped you?"

A smirk tugged at the edge of her lips. The kid had a point.

* * *

Logan walked into the danger room. He had planned on going to run through one of the simulations, but instead, he found Webber hanging from the ceiling on a miniature scaffolding. He was doing something to one of the hologram projectors. "Hey, Logan!" he called down. "How's it hanging?"

Logan chuckled. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Just fixing one of the projectors," he explained. "How are you holding up?"

The mutant furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard?" the human called back.

"Heard what?" Logan had no idea what this kid was talking about.

"Dude," Webber replied with a sympathetic overtone, "Peter's proposing to Rogue!"

There was a moment where Logan thought his heart might've stopped. He knew that it was coming. Eventually. Maybe a year down the line or something. But not now. Not so soon.

"Hello?" Webber called out. "Logan, you there?"

Logan looked back up at the young man. "How do you know that?"

"Peter told Bobby, who told Kitty, who told Jubilee, who told me," he explained. "Luckily, no one's blabbed to Rogue yet."

"Do you know when?" Logan asked.

Webber shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently Bobby has kept quiet about it for like a month. My guess is anytime now."

"Thanks, Kid," the older man replied, turning to leave. "See you later."

"Lates!" Webber called before going back to work. "Oh, hey, Logan, wait!"

Logan stopped and looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"I need to do some heavy duty renovations in here tomorrow," Webber explained, "and I was hoping to start earlier than later."

"Yeah, so?" Logan replied.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you and Peter could combine your morning training sessions into one so I can get an earlier start," the young man explained.

Logan sighed. He was not looking forward to having to interact with Peter for a long period of time. Especially after the news he had just received. But he was aware that the danger room needed work. "Okay, fine. I'll let him know."

"Thanks," Webber called before going back to his work.

* * *

Logan wasn't intentionally looking for Rogue. He was, in fact, looking for Peter. But this would work, too.

He ran into Rogue in the foyer at the foot of the stairs. "Hey, Logan," she said with a wide smile. "How's it going?"

"Can't complain," he replied with a shrug. "You seen Peter around?"

She hesitated. "Uh, I think he's doing some outside training since Webber's doing stuff in the danger room. Why?"

"Webber needs to do work in the danger room tomorrow afternoon so he wants me and Peter to combine training sessions," he explained. "Can you pass on the message?"

She nodded. "Sure thing." But she could tell by the way he stood and how he looked at her that something was bothering him. "You okay, Logan?"

"Are you happy with him?" he asked bluntly. He'd never been one to beat around the bush.

She stared up at him in concern before nodding. "Yeah, I am."

He tore his eyes away from her. "Good," he replied, moving to head up the stairs.

"Are you…" she started before changing her mind.

He stopped and turned to face her. "What?"

She took a deep breath and asked, "Are you having second thoughts about your decision?"

"What decision?" he replied, looking at her with an even stare.

"You know what decision," she said, trying to keep her voice from raising. "Do you regret telling me to get back together with Peter?"

He shook his head. "I don't."

Her gaze fell to the floor. "Oh."

"I can't regret it, Marie," he said, getting her attention again. "I didn't want to let you go, but you belong with him. I can't stand in the way of that, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"So… later, kid," he replied, heading up the stairs.

"Later," she muttered feebly.

* * *

Peter stared down at the ring he held in his hands. He was gonna propose soon, he just wasn't sure how. He felt more nervous this time than last, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe because Logan was around and there was a good chance that Rogue would say no.

But he tried to stay positive. They were gonna spend their lives together. He just needed to make the move.

He remembered how nervous he was about asking last time.

"_Dude, what's up with you?" Bobby asked one day when they had been training together. Usually, Bobby couldn't touch him, but Peter seemed distant that day._

_Peter sighed. "Sorry, Bobby, I'm a little distracted today."_

"_You wanna talk about it?" Iceman asked._

_Peter hesitated. Bobby had a huge mouth, he knew that. But then again, Bobby had told him when he was gonna propose to Kitty. Maybe he could be a big help. "I'm gonna propose to Marie."_

_Bobby's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Seriously?"_

_Colossus nodded. "Yeah. Keep your mouth shut, will ya? Don't even mention it to Kitty."_

"_Dude, your secret's safe with me," he said, holding up a hand. "Scout's honor."_

"_Why don't I believe that you were ever a scout?" Peter grumbled._

"_How are you gonna propose?" Bobby asked, ignoring the comment._

"_Not sure yet…"_

"_I'll help you think of something," Iceman offered with a smile._

"Hey, Peter," Logan said, snapping Peter from his daze.

Peter tucked the ring back into his pocket and looked around the danger room. "Looks like everyone's here," Peter said to him.

Logan looked the kid over. He seemed to be sort of out of it. And Logan was sure he knew the reason. "You okay, Kid?" he asked.

Peter nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay. You ready to start?"

Wolverine didn't press him. "Sure. Let's get going."

"Everyone gather around! Come on!" Peter called out to the students.

Once everyone was gathered around him and Logan, Peter said, "Okay, separate into teams of two. In this simulation, there will be several dangers that will attack your team and every other. The object is to work as a team between you and your partner and with the other teams. Logan and I will be watching but cannot assist you. Understand?"

There was a chorus of "yes" in response.

"Okay, spread out," Logan instructed.

They waited until the teams were spread out across the danger room before Logan called out, "Run simulation number 24352."

But the room around them didn't change. He and Peter exchanged glances before he called out again, "Run simulation number 24352."

Still, the room didn't respond. Logan growled. He was not up for this today. "One second," he muttered before disappearing into the control room.

Webber sat inside, typing something into the computer in a panic.

"What's going on, Webber?" Logan growled. "Why isn't the simulation starting?"

"I'm working on it," the techie replied frantically. "It's not finding the specific simulation you're asking for."

"What do you mean?" Wolverine snapped. "Jubilee created that simulation about three months ago. It has to be."

"I'm looking," Webber said. He typed quickly until his face lit up. "Ah ha!" he called triumphantly. "Here it is!"

"Good," he replied, glancing up at the screen. "Start it."

Webber pressed the enter button and looked up at the screen.

The room on the monitors flickered from one state to another before settling back on its original state. The kids and Peter looked confused.

Just as Logan was about to look back to the tech, a bright light flashed across the screen. Several screams echoed in the air, and when the light faded, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Logan could see the panel falling, coming down right on top of Peter, who seemed to be oblivious.

Logan ran out of the control room, moving as fast as he could. He had to stop it. "Peter!" he called, but it was too late.

The five hundred pound projection panel toppled down on top of Peter, crushing him underneath it.

* * *

AN: See why I warned you? Trust me, this was planned out long ago and had nothing to do with Tanya2byour21's request for me to "crush the tin can." But it is ironic. Anyways, please review.

Oh, and by the way, **NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST!**


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 15

A few of the girls were still screaming, terrified of what was going on. The kids had started to gather around as Logan pushed his way towards Peter. "Someone go get McCoy!" he shouted out.

"On it!" someone yelled back before racing out of the room.

Logan positioned himself at the edge of the panel before using all his strength to lift the projection panel. He let out a growl as he pushed it over, tossing it away from Peter.

The broken form of Peter laid motionless on the floor, blood coming out the corner of his mouth, limbs contorted at all different angles. Logan knelt down next to him. "Peter, say something," he insisted. "Say something!"

He didn't say anything but he did move. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, holding it out to Logan. "Take care of Marie for me," he gasped, more blood escaping his mouth.

"You're not gonna die, Peter," Logan insisted, ignoring the ring. "Hank's coming and he's gonna help you."

"Promise me, you'll take care of her," Peter wheezed, still holding out the ring. "I need… her to be… safe…"

"You can take care of her," Logan replied solidly. This couldn't happen. Rogue needed Peter.

"Promise me," Peter repeated. "I need… to know…"

Logan hesitated before nodding slowly. "Okay. Just until you get better," he answered, taking the ring from Peter's hand.

More and more blood spilled from Colossus' mouth. "Thank you," he whispered. His arm dropped limply and his eyes shut.

"Stay with me, Peter," Logan insisted, placing his hands on the other mutant's shoulders. There was no response. "Peter!" he snapped, shaking him. Still no response. "Peter, wake up!"

And then he could hear it. The heartbeat. Very faint, very slow. Then… nothing.

"Out of the way!" the familiar voice of Hank bellowed as the sea of students separated. The blue mutant hurried over to Peter's side, looking to Logan.

Logan looked back at Hank with a shake of the head. "It's too late…" he whispered, getting to his feet.

Hank began CPR, certain that he could bring Peter back. The students around them were all shocked. Some of the girls were crying, most of the boys were stone-faced.

And just arriving and shoving their way through were Jubilee and Rogue. Logan's eyes met Rogue's and she knew. A hand flew to her mouth as tears sprung into her eyes and started rolling down her cheeks.

Logan approached her and took her other hand into his. He slid the ring into her hand, closing her fingers around it, and whispered, "He wanted you to have this."

She glanced down at the ring and a sob escaped. Jubilee hugged her friend tightly, looking up at Logan. He didn't say anything. He just stared at them for a moment before walking away.

He couldn't be there anymore.

* * *

Rogue hadn't been to a funeral in a long time. The professor's had been the last one she went to.

And even though years had passed since then, she felt like she was right back there.

_The entire school was there. Rows and rows of mourners created a sea of black as they waited for the ceremony to begin._

_Bobby sat to one side of her, and while he thought she hadn't noticed, she saw him grip Kitty's hand tightly. She looked away from them, focusing on Storm as she spoke. There was already too much to be upset about, there was no need to get worked up about something that was possibly not even there._

_Rogue hadn't seen Logan. There were rows and rows of people but no Logan. She knew that he wasn't the type to hang around for stuff like this. He didn't do emotions well._

_However, there was a strange feeling that was nagging her. So, she glanced over her shoulder. And there he was. Dressed as though it were any other day, leaning up against a tree. She could see that the Professor's death was affecting him, too, even though he didn't really show it._

Today wasn't any different.

Rogue stood up in front of everyone, staring down at her hands. This had been the longest stretch of time in the past few days that she hadn't cried. She spun the engagement ring around her finger nervously. It seemed strange to put the ring on knowing that it wasn't actually symbolizing a wedding but in fact a death. But this was the last thread holding Peter to her and she wasn't going to let it go.

She raised her gaze back to the waiting crowd. Her voice left her. What was there to say?

And then she saw him. Dressed as though it were any other day, leaning up against a tree. His gaze met hers and she knew what to say. Only Logan could make her speak without doing anything. "Peter… He was… wonderful. I don't think there was anyone who didn't have something good to say about him. He was incredibly patient and kind, and even when something bad would happen, he tried to look at the bright side." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued, "Peter was the kind of man who knew when someone needed someone and knew exactly how to help. I don't think there was a selfish bone in his entire body." She sniffled, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall. Before she had gotten up there, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't make it personal. But it was hard not to. "I fell in love with Peter because of his selflessness. He waited for years for me as I tried to get over someone else." She saw Logan bristle but didn't stop. "And when he saw that I needed someone, he helped me. Then, years later, he still showed me more kindness than I really deserved." The tears began to roll down her cheeks. "He had no problem forgiving me." She glanced down at her hands again. "He was the most wonderful man I've ever met." Her gaze met Logan's again and she said, "And I will never forget him."

The only sound was the sniffling and crying of the crowd as Rogue looked out over them. Seeing the whole school together, faculty and students alike, made Rogue miss Peter more. Sure, he'd been gone before, but now, it felt much different.

"If we could please bow our heads in a moment of silence," she instructed.

Everyone did as they were asked, bowing their heads. Except one. Rogue watched through her periphery as Logan backed away from the tree a few steps and then turned, heading away from the ceremony. She shut her eyes tight, squeezing out a few more tears. It felt like her life was over.

* * *

Rogue didn't see Logan for the first few days after the funeral. At first, she thought that he might've taken off again. But when she checked the garage, his bike was still there. Maybe he just thought that she needed time alone.

She kept her distance from him for a little while. Being in such an unhappy state, who knows what might've happened if she went to him sooner. It was just safer for her to stay away.

But finally, after about a week of keeping her distance, she went to his room. The door was wide open so she stepped inside.

Logan had his back to her and the door. His closet and dresser had been emptied and all other personal belongings were nowhere in sight. And she knew what this meant. "You're taking off again?" she asked, not attempting to hide the venom in her voice.

He didn't turn to face her but nodded. "Yeah."

"I can't say I'm surprised," she replied stonily. "It's just who you are."

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "It's different this time, Kid," he replied. He looked back down before saying, "Catch," and tossing a large roundish object over his shoulder toward her.

She had to lean forward to catch it but when she did, she realized what it was. A motorcycle helmet. "What's this for?" she asked.

"I may not wear a helmet, but that doesn't mean that you aren't going to," he replied, finally turning to face her. "I want you to come with me."

Taking a deep breath, she said, "But what about my classes? And Jubilee?"

"I've already talked to Storm and Jubilee," he said. "They both agreed that you need some time off."

She gazed down at the helmet, biting down on her bottom lip. "Just because… just because I'm going with you doesn't mean that there's anything-"

"I know, Kid," he interrupted with a smirk. "I just couldn't leave you behind this time."

A small smile crossed her lips. "Where are we going this time?"

His face grew more serious. "I have a son out there and I need to find him."

Rogue couldn't stop her smile from growing. "Let's go then."

Neither knew what this adventure held for them. But they both found that they were okay with that.

**THE END**

* * *

AN: Well, I love how this all turned out. And I know most of you probably hate that I didn't get her and Logan back together, but it just didn't seem right to me. She really loved Peter and it would take her a while to get over him, so it seemed okay to let her have a grieving process.

I'm telling you all right now, there will be no sequel. This story can and will stand alone.

Anyways, please let me know what you thought of the entire story and review!

MonsterChild


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